Dufry-owned Hudson Group has hailed the timing of the official opening of its first Nonstop store powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology at Dallas Love Field International Airport on 22 February 2021.

As reported at the start of the year, Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology will arrive at selected Hudson travel convenience stores at leading North American airports.

The Just Walk Out technology allows customers to pick up products in a physical store, pay for their items and leave.

Speaking to TRBusiness as part of the Leading Americas Operators report in this publication’s April e-zine, Roger Fordyce, Chief Executive Officer, Hudson said: “Regardless of whether you’re looking at the airport retail space or your traditional brick and mortar stores, it’s evident that shopping habits and trends have drastically changed to reflect the current environment.

“The idea of contactless shopping and a preference for digitalisation in-store, similar to an online experience, are not going away anytime soon, even after the pandemic.

FLEXIBLE SHOPPING

“Hudson Nonstop fills the demand as it allows travellers to shop at their own speed, on their own schedules.”

Fordyce says the launch of the Nonstop store is testament to Hudson’s ability to continue on the digital innovation journey it embarked on before the pandemic and benefit from the demand for technology and changing passenger demographics favouring this type of store concept.

That said, Hudson is aware that may travellers prefer the classic Hudson in-store experience and still prefer to shop in that environment. “We need to ensure we have concepts that appeal to all needs and demands,” Fordyce remarked. “Hudson Nonstop and the technology it is powered by never intended to fully replace our traditional convenience store model, but simply serve as an extension of our portfolio.”

While focusing on digital opportunities such as Hudson Non-Stop, the US retailer will continue concentrating on serving its customers with an emphasis on health and safety for travellers and team members.

“We will also continue to manage the fiscal health of our business and respond quickly to changes in travel volume. Current TSA passenger counts are indicating that 2021 is off to a fairly slow start and that travel overall is still slowly rebounding.

“This means we must continue working in joint partnership with our landlords as well as our ACDBE partners to protect our financial position while building back our business.”

Focusing on strategic avenues of opportunity is an important aspect of growing the business, according to Fordyce. “In the realm of digital technology, we are going to continue to advance innovations that promote a contactless shopping environment and drive customer conversion.”

Following the successful launch of Hudson’s first Nonstop store, the retailer vowed to expand its self-check-out capabilities and mobile points of sale and introduce automated retail. This would enable it to recreate the Hudson experience, wherever and whenever travellers want to shop.

Hudson was true to its word and earlier this month revealed its first-of-a-kind multi-branded automated retail concept at Myrtle Beach International Airport.

Evaluating expansion opportunities is another important element of growing the business, whether through requests for proposals for new retail locations, the advancement of in-store shop-in-shops or the development of new avenues within its food and beverage capabilities.

“We really believe that an important aspect of rebuilding our business is finding new opportunities to increase our exposure to travellers,” Fordyce remark. “We are carefully evaluating traditional requests for proposals and other new business opportunities as they become available in the markets and are pursuing those opportunities where it makes sense.”

MAG DEBATE

On the debate around the efficacy of minimum annual guarantees (MAGs) and the structure of airport retail contracts, Fordyce said the risk of MAGs became very evident during this extended business downturn, not only for Hudson, but for all concessionaires.

“While we understand the risk inherent in our business as we are dependent on passenger flow, the pandemic taught us that moving forward we need to incorporate provisions into our agreements to protect our business in the event of unprecedented circumstances. This is something which is not included in many of our current rent structures.

“That said, we understand that MAGs are required in some instances as financing requirements for airports, so we realise our partners may be unable to completely eliminate them.

“No matter the individual situation or circumstances, the continued partnership with our landlords is extremely important. We are open to exploring all discussions, market-by-market, to determine a business model that collectively works for all parties.”

The strengthened collaboration with its landlords has been one of the bright spots of the pandemic for Hudson. “We’re extremely pleased with the efforts that have been shown by all of our landlords, not only in the airport space, but also in the commuter hubs and tourist destinations where we do business.

“We look forward to continuing to partner with each of our landlords and ACDBE partners in this regard in a market-by-market approach as needed.”

See the TRBusiness April e-zine for the full interview with Roger Fordyce, Chief Executive Officer, Hudson