THE NETHERLANDS. “We wanted to have a completely new retail concept,” says B&S Group Managing Director Retail Peter Wiggers, “so we did something completely different.”
That’s the thinking behind B&S Group-owned Capi’s redeveloped multi-category retail concept at Eindhoven Airport in the Netherlands. It consists of two stores in 895sq m of space: Capi Travel Plaza and Travel Luxury. They officially open on Thursday (25 April), but The Moodie Davitt Report was given an exclusive preview tour just a few days after the stores’ soft launch earlier this month.
In travel retail, Capi has become a leading player in the electronics category, with a strong presence in Europe and other parts of the world, including Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Having been acquired by B&S Group in 2012, the parent company’s retail activities have now been placed in one division, which is responsible for the next phase of retail development.
Capi has leveraged its experience in electronics to create a new multi-category duty free concept, which has been designed specifically for regional airports. The concept is modular, says Wiggers, so can be tailored to individual locations but also rolled out easily across airports.
The retail concept is launching with a flagship store at Eindhoven Airport, but Capi is currently in discussions with other regional airports about further implementations. Wiggers says the focus is on quality rather than quantity. “For us, it is better to have fewer stores done well, and we want to build for a long period of time,” he explains. “So we will say no more than we will say yes.”
The new concept takes into consideration the passenger profile at Eindhoven Airport, and crucially, the amount of dwell time passengers have. Wiggers says there is an 80%/20% split between leisure and business travellers [with the main nationalities being Dutch and Belgian].
There are fewer ways to spend dwell time at regional airports such as Eindhoven compared to larger airports, so the retail stores should be entertaining and stock products of interest to travellers for their holiday, he states. In reality though, the retail experience at regional airports can often be disappointing.
“You see fantastic stores in big airports that are beautiful. But in smaller airports they are sometimes so-so,” explains Wiggers. “One of the main differences is the dwell time, and there is also completely different buying behaviour. Not only that, the buying behaviour of travellers is completely different than normal life.
“The key is to develop a multi-category retail concept where there are many opportunities to spend that dwell time. We did something completely different in the electronics sector, so we said ‘let’s also do it in regional airports’. And that’s what we did.”
The new Eindhoven Airport walk-through stores feature 13 different categories, and put a strong focus on experiences and Sense of Place.
“We tried to give every category the correct exposure and its own atmosphere,” says Wiggers. “The material of the store is the same everywhere. The modular concept means categories can be easily expanded or contracted – or left out altogether.”
The terminal layout largely dictated the creation of two separate stores in Eindhoven, with a walkway between them. But there is a definite impression of them being connected, according to Wiggers.
Capi Travel Plaza offers the core categories and has more universal appeal while Travel Luxury focuses on higher-end goods such as handbags, sunglasses and watches. These luxury items are still affordable though, Wiggers notes, and do not price shoppers out of the market. “These are products where shoppers need more advice and assistance,” he says.
The overall retail concept is based on three principles that increase travellers’ comfort levels and decrease stress: allure, accessibility and local connections. Allure means the store should appeal to and excite leisure travellers, bearing in mind some of those may only travel once or twice a year, Wiggers explains.
Accessibility is vital because of the traveller profile. “We have consumer psychologists within the company, and we found that when going on holiday or a long weekend, the buying motive is related to the trip rather than the future. Travellers likely won’t spend a few hundred euros. The store needs promotions and to ensure people have a good feeling,” says Wiggers.
As such, the product range strongly emphasises items that are useful for the trip being made, or that offer a memory or souvenir. The third store principle, local connections, comes to the fore here. Local products are showcased in a dedicated section at the back of the store near the cash desks, while Capi has partnered with local football club PSV Eindhoven to offer a range of team-endorsed products.
The local connections principle also encompasses corporate social responsibility, with Capi aware of the store’s place as part of the region and society.
Wiggers says there are actually fewer products in the store than previously, so that there is more space for events such as product promotions and demonstrations. These event spaces are clearly marked with red and white banners.
In liquor, Jack Daniel’s currently occupies a promotional space in liquors & tobacco, while a beauty bar in perfumes & cosmetics attracts attention and offers workshops and makeup tips. A Rituals shop-in-shop adds to the experience in the section.
Further on in the store, a magic mirror offers an augmented reality experience and allows travellers to take a selfie against a range of backdrops. The magic mirror is primarily targeted at children, and much else has been done to ensure children are entertained. They can pick up a brightly-coloured leaflet which offers games and puzzles, for example.
Another differentiating aspect of the Eindhoven Airport store is its opening area, which presents books and magazines in special offers. Travellers want these reading materials and are tempted by magazines that are bundled together at good prices, for example, Wiggers explains. “The area is a wallet-opener,” he says. “If something is in the travellers’ hand early on, there are more likely to spend as they move through the store.”
The layout of the store encourages exploration, with categories to be discovered on both sides. The light stone floor does not divide areas, making it easy to go between different departments. “You can browse, walk slowly, do whatever you want – and most importantly you won’t be stressed,” Wiggers says.
It is also easy to get to the exit quickly, should travellers wish to do so, with Wiggers unwilling to trap passengers against their will. Instead, an open area and colourful displays at the store’s exit aim to attract passengers back into the store.
During The Moodie Davitt Report’s visit, Wiggers pointed out many travellers who were doing just that, perhaps encouraged by the realisation they had more time before flying than they thought. They might also have noticed a particular product during their first walk-through, and come back to explore in more detail, Wiggers notes.
“The retail concept is still being fine-tuned, but seeing it in action shows that it is working. And the airport is happy with what we are doing too. We believe in the idea,” he concludes. “It is easy to roll-out elsewhere, and success for us would be a few great quality stores.
“But we are a big company, so we could have both quality and quantity.”
