Dubai-based Retail Concepts retail brand WIZZ is to open a 100sq m toy and gadget shop in the new extension to Sydney Airport's International Terminal at the end of this month.

‘This is a major step forward for WIZZ,’ says Managing Director Nigel Caddick. ‘It's tremendously exciting for us and we hope this will be just the first in a series of stores opening up throughout Australia.’

In another first, Retail Concepts in Dubai has granted a local Australian company – Kfouri Retail – the license to operate the store as a franchise. The new company – WIZZ (Sydney International Airport) Pty Ltd will be run by Bernadette (Binky) Kfouri, wife of well known Paton's Macadamia Pty General Manager, Sales & Marketing, James Kfouri.

She said: ‘I am very excited to be bringing WIZZ to Australia. WIZZ offers travellers a unique shopping experience, providing toys, gadgets and gizmos to people of all ages that are easy to place in hand luggage, great value for money and very entertaining.’

INTERESTING SHOP-FIT CONCEPT
The company says that the shop fit has been 'meticulously designed' with an exciting 'alien' theme, including 'an enormous spaceship' at the entrance, and other starships made to appear to be coming out of the walls ? along with 'little green aliens'.

‘The overall look is bright and animated,’ said Caddick. 'We wanted to make it a very exciting store to be in. We've used multi-media screens throughout, giving maximum impact to our displays and the whole experience is designed to be very interactive, with customers encouraged to play with the products and have fun in-store.’

The Sydney Airport shop will carry the regular WIZZ range, along with a new line of souvenir-orientated toys designed specifically for Sydney. Says Nigel Caddick: ‘We're going to add animals such as Kangaroos to our animated plush range and adapt our very successful projector pen collection to include images more relevant to Australia – Crocodiles, Kangaroos, Sydney Opera House etc.’

Binky Kfouri concluded: ‘Shopping at WIZZ will be all about having a good time. Our fantastic fun-loving staff will be on hand to demonstrate the features of our products ? we even have a magician joining the team to show off our range of magic sets.’