Norway’s state-owned airport operator Avinor has launched multiple retail bidding opportunities as part of a new commercial tender.

Interested parties are being invited to contest 38 retail, F&B and convenience contracts – each running for up to five years – at Oslo Gardermoen (OSL), Bergen Flesland (BGO), Stavanger (SVG) and Trondheim (TRD) Airports (more detail below).

The deadline for submissions for the 62 business premises is 8 March 2022, ahead of the majority of contracts beginning on 1 January 2023.

Smaller operators can bid for individual outlets, while major national and international operators are able to challenge for multiple contracts.

‘RISK REDUCTION MECHANISMS’

These feature ‘risk reduction mechanisms’ to increase their attractiveness, says Avinor, such as removing fixed rents on retail premises and implementing turnover-based rent and operating costs.

“During normal operations, Avinor’s airports are among the largest and most attractive marketplaces in Norway, with a broad and diverse group of customers with strong purchasing power,” stated Joachim Lupnaav Johnsen, Executive Vice President Commercial, Avinor.

“We aim to create a wider selection of concepts at each airport and across our portfolio of sites, and we want to strengthen the regional sense of place. For example, we want it to be obvious that you have arrived in Bergen – rather than just any other European airport. We want there to be a good balance between the global and the local providers, and we thereby hope to see new, interesting constellations as a result.”

Avinor operates 44 airports across Norway. It says commercial income constitutes more than 50% of its total revenue.

In January last year, Avinor released its much-anticipated tax and travel value tender eventually won by Gebr. Heinemann’s local partner Norse Trade and Airport Retail Norway.

CONVENIENCE & FASHION ‘TO GENERATE HIGHEST INCOME’

The 38 contracts are divided into convenience (five), F&B (12), books (five), fashion & lifestyle (10), electronics (two), souvenir (two) and pharmacy (two).

Based on Avinor’s estimates, the convenience and fashion & lifestyle concessions are tipped for the biggest financial returns, collectively yielding almost 60% (€489 million/$558 million) of the total value of the contracts.

For convenience stores, the five contracts to be awarded (two at OSL; one each at BGO, SVG, TRD) are estimated to generate €344m over their duration.

A total of 24 retail spaces (domestic, international, landside, helicopter terminal) are available at the airports in question with retail areas spanning 68sq m to 212sq m.

Meanwhile, the 10 contracts available for fashion, multi-brand and lifestyle concepts are predicated to yield €145m over the duration of the contracts.

These are split into five fashion multi-brand contracts (two at OSL; one each at BGO, SVG, TRD) plus a further five for lifestyle concepts (three at OSL; one each at BGO and SVG). A total of 11 retail spaces are available spanning 70sq m to 1,077sq m.

For more information on the other packages and access to tender documents, click here.

All images courtesy of Avinor.