A major revamp of the main retail offer at Dublin Airport’s terminal one will launch in March 2015. It includes all-new concepts in several departments, led by wines and spirits.

 

Aer Rianta International, the global airport retailing subsidiary of state-owned Dublin Airport Authority [officially renamed DAA in November] has previewed some of these concepts which include a large wine offer, an emphasis on whiskies [a focal point of the store], a confectionery area called Candy Cloud, and a gifting section called Irish Memories (see images).

 

T1 handles primarily short haul flights, with some exceptions for seasonal medium and long haul services.

 

CEO of ARI, Jack MacGowan, describes the new concepts as “stunning”. It is hoped that the new offer will translate into extra retail sales now that Dublin Airport is back in growth mode. Passengers traffic in 2013 rose by +6% to 20.2m, strongly ahead of the European Union average of +1%.

 

Last year was the first since 2009 that the airport served more than 20m passengers.

 

However, DAA, which operates Dublin and Cork airports and globally via ARI, saw group turnover in 2013 fall by -6% to €501m ($625m). This was largely due to ARI withdrawing from Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Turnover in Ireland, however, increased by +5% during 2013 (like-for-like) which bodes well for the new T1 revamp.