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Official opening: The ribbon cutting ceremony for the T1 store took place on 10 December |
FINLAND. World Duty Free (WDF) officially launched 11 retail operations at Helsinki Airport on Thursday 10 December, following the completion of its third and final tax and duty free store last month.
WDF is operating a combination of core walk-through tax and duty free stores and specialist luxury, multi-brand and boutique offerings across Terminal 1, T2 Schengen and T2 Non Schengen. Dufry group company WDF also operates a twelfth outlet in Arrivals.
World Duty Free Group CEO Eugenio Andrades noted the airport’s strategic importance as the main European gateway to Asia, with six direct routes to China and 17 elsewhere in Asia next year.
“We have worked closely with our partners at Finavia to create the very best stores and offer passengers an inspiring choice of premium brands, exclusive products and local specialities,” he said.
Commenting at the opening ceremony, Andrades said WDF was happy to be joining Finavia on its journey to see Helsinki Airport reach 20 million passengers by 2020. He also put the finalisation of Dufry’s acquisition of the company in context, saying that “being bigger” meant WDF was now able to bring “something extra”.
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Sharing a smile: World Duty Free Group CEO Eugenio Andrades and Finavia Airport Director Ville Haapasaari in discussion at the official launch |
Finavia Airport Director Ville Haapasaari said the commercial service selection at Helsinki Airport had been upgraded extensively during the past couple of years. He noted that WDF had helped put the airport “on par with other world-class airports in terms of its commercial offering”. Haapasaari added: “We hope that we can provide our passengers with not only what they are looking for, but new experiences and positive surprises as well.”
WDF Store Manager Michael Gaffney said there were a number of local challenges which made the Helsinki stores unique and different to the layout and content of a UK duty free store. For example, no liquor sampling is allowed, so a central challenge is to “find other ways to bring the stores to life”.
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Premium offering: The main 1,280sq m walk through store in T2 Non Schengen is WDF’s largest store at Helsinki Airport |
Two methods used are “contentainment” areas and a larger food and confectionery offering that features regular promotions and tastings. At Helsinki, the percentage of confectionery sales – and the space devoted to the category – is much larger than usual. Although the figures vary across the stores because of the different passenger profiles, in the T1 walk-through shop confectionery is a large part of the mix and accounts for almost 50% of sales, according to Gaffney.
The 283sq m store opened for business on 13 November and places a strong emphasis on Finnish brands to cater for the many short-haul non-domestic European flights. WDF’s shop-in-shop concept “˜Thinking Finland’ has been introduced to add to the Sense of Place, offering a range of local souvenirs and food items.
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Visually arresting: “˜Contentainment’ areas provide an attractive area to promote brands |
T2 Schengen
WDF’s walk-through store in the T2 Schengen area was one of the company’s “most technically difficult to plan”, according to Chief Operations Officer – UK & Northern Europe Fred Creighton, because there are three entrances/exits which leave it in “real danger of no longer becoming a walk-through”.
The 956sq m store, which is WDF’s biggest by sales volume at the airport, has been designed to “maximise flows while minimising leakage” out of the store, Creighton said.
WDF Global Head of Beauty Antonin Carreau noted that as the store is extremely close to the security area, its first features must arrest the attention of passengers. Beauty is the key category, taking up 55-60% of space, and so on the right hand side strong brands are positioned to provide a focal point. On the left, value and exclusive products are promoted in non-branded wall spaces. “We have a good value message to communicate,” said Carreau.
T2 Schengen has a wider European passenger profile with the main nationalities being Scandinavian, Italian, French, Spanish and Polish. Several new brands have been introduced into the main store. including L’Occitane, Rituals and Sisley. While there is still a focus on Finnish products, a smaller “˜Thinking Finland’ counter concept than in T1 is included.
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Local offerings: A focus on Finnish products helps the Helsinki stores stand out |
Here the food category is almost as big as liquor, according to Gaffney.
A separate 108sq m multi-brand luxury store showcases premium brands Porsche, Armani and Versace. WDF said sunglasses have been a “big success story” here, occupying just 20% of the store space, but accounting for 50% of sales at the height of summer. WDF said there were plans to increase the sunglasses offering, with the category proving popular among Asian passengers as well as Finnish holiday-makers
On the opposite side of the walkway, WDF’s 72sq m Polo Ralph Lauren store focuses mainly on clothing and some accessory lines and caters for a predominantly female passenger profile.
A 175sq m Beauty Brands store has been created in partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies in Terminal 2 Schengen. It brings together a collection of the US beauty house’s premium brands, including Tom Ford, La Mer, Jo Malone, Bobbi Brown, MAC and Origins. The Jo Malone London concession is the first in Scandinavia and has been extremely well received by passengers, according to Creighton. MAC and Bobbi Brown are both new brands for the airport.
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Brand addition: Beauty is the key category in the T2 Schengen store, taking up 55-60% of space |
T2 Non Schengen
The main 1,280sq m walk-through store in T2 Non Schengen is WDF’s largest store at the airport. The passenger profile is 100% long haul and 70% transit, with predominantly Chinese and other Asian passengers.
To cater to Asian passengers, there is a strong focus on international brands and several new products have been introduced to enhance the range, including Crème de la Mer, La Prairie and Sisley. Carreau said WDF was also exploring the possibility of adding more Asian brands to enhance appeal to passengers from the region. Sensai already features prominently, he noted.
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Photo Finnish: WDF’s shop-in-shop concept “˜Thinking Finland’ helps provide a Sense of Place |
Carreau said Chinese travellers make up just 5% of the airport’s passengers but a whopping 30% of sales in the T2 Non Schengen store.
The liquor proposition also represents a shift from Finnish to premium brands. It incorporates WDF’s Connoisseur Collection concept, which showcases the premium Cognacs and whiskies it says are popular with Chinese and other Asians.
The food and confectionery zone features a large sampling area, allowing for a regular cycle of promotions and product sampling. Fazer, Finland’s leading confectionery brand, has a strong presence. A delicatessen area offers chilled meats, including reindeer and bear, plus Finnish cheeses.
WDF said it had focused on premium souvenirs to differentiate its offering from the airport competition. It is seeking to grow that aspect of the category with items such as the Finnish design brand Arabia, which produces mugs and other china pieces decorated with Finland’s iconic Moomin characters.
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Drinking patterns: The liquor proposition incorporates WDF’s Connoisseur Collection concept |
The store also features a small luxury area which focuses on sunglasses, watches and jewellery. “It is a small but growing part of the mix,” said Gaffney.
The boutique in T2 Non Schengen focus on premium offerings in line with the passenger profile. A 69sq m Max Mara store is the first in the passenger flow and was the last of WDF’s 12 stores at Helsinki to open.
The Multibrand Luxury store features an offering from Bally – a brand WDF said is particularly popular with Asian passengers – and accounts for 40% of total sales. The flexible format of the concept store means that different brands can be introduced and trialled to “keep the product mix fresh and relevant for customers”, according to Creighton.
An 85sq m Burberry store is particularly attractive to Chinese passengers, according to WDF, while the 62sq m Chocolatique store provides a final opportunity to purchase premium confectionery items from brands such as Godiva, Butlers and Fazer.
WDF’s retail offer at Helsinki Airport is completed with an 89sq m VIP Lounge store, which forms part of the Finnair flagship First and Business lounges.
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High class: The Multibrand Luxury store offers flexibility of brand line-up and is underpinned by a strong offering from Bally |
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Lounge act: WDF says the VIP Lounge store is performing well because of its prime location |
