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Marking the occasion: (Left to right) Friedrichshafen Airport Managing Director Hans Weiss, Eurotrade Managing Director Hellmut Gebhardt and Munich Airport CEO Michael Kerkloh celebrate the store opening |
GERMANY. Friedrichshafen Bodensee Airport has inaugurated a new 316sq m duty free and travel retail store, with Munich Airport subsidiary Eurotrade taking over the concession to manage the retail business. Friedrichshafen serves over 30 destinations in Germany, Austria and southern Europe.
The new store carries a range of over 10,000 items, and is the centrepiece of the new-look airside arena at the location, part of a €1.7 million investment. The airport company said the mix included leading international brands such as Lancôme, Clinique, Chanel, Dior and Shiseido, alongside local and regional brands. The large new store has created ten additional jobs at the airport.
“I’m delighted that a new era with an interesting shopping experience has begun at Bodensee Airport,” said airport Managing Director Hans Weiss. Also at the opening were Munich Airport CEO Michael Kerkloh, Eurotrade chief Hellmut Gebhardt, as well as the Mayor of the local region, Andreas Schmid, and Johannes Brugger, a local Friedrichshafen leader with political party CDU.
The creation of the new-look shopping zone is a further step towards modernising the airport, which began with the opening of a new Departures terminal last autumn. In the coming months a new food & beverage area of 185sq m will also open.
Weiss said: “Besides the increase in capacity, improving our offer and service is an important part of our long-term strategy.”
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Friedrichshafen Airport’s new 316sq m travel retail store carries a broad, diverse product range |
As noted above, Eurotrade has taken over management of the retail business. Gebhardt noted: “We are very happy to bring our decades of retailing experience here.” Eurotrade was founded as a division of Munich Airport in the 1970s to develop the commercial areas at the airport, and has grown in tandem with the rapid growth of the southern German hub. Today it operates over 75 stores and controls around 90% of the shopping turnover at the airport.
Weiss said the appointment of Eurotrade was a significant indicator of the potential at Friedrichshafen, which serves passengers living in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
“Our goal is to increase the number of passengers from 600,000 a year to 1 million by 2020,” said Weiss.
Amid that growth the development of non-aviation revenues will be vital, he added. Income from car parking, food & beverage, shopping and advertising accounts for 50% of revenues at airport operators such as Munich Airport, Weiss said, underlining his airport’s big commercial growth ambitions.
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