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TIAT Duty Free, the new face of duty free retailing at Haneda Airport |
JAPAN. Japan Airport Terminal Co (JATCo) is experiencing a surge in duty free sales following a major expansion of international flights serving Tokyo Haneda Airport on 31 October.
JATCo Director, Sales & Marketing Division (Duty-Free Business) Hideki Hayashi estimated that duty free turnover had doubled since the new flight schedule came into play.
Tokyo International Air Terminal Co (TIAT) inaugurated its new International Terminal at Haneda Airport on 21 October, along with a new 2,500m runway.
The new schedule offers 17 international routes with 40 daily slots to destinations including Bangkok, Honolulu, London, Los Angeles, Paris, New York and Singapore. Previously charter flights had linked Haneda with only Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai.
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Tokyo Souvenir Shop has two landside locations in the new terminal |
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Local sightseers are boosting landside retail activity at the airport |
“Everything is going very smoothly, especially landside shops,” Hayashi told The Moodie Report. Sales overall were roughly in line with expectations, he confirmed.
But he added: “Within that total, brand boutique sales are not doing so well because of the strong Yen, so Korean visitors are purchasing less at the moment.”
That has been counterbalanced by an unexpected uplift in sightseers taking in the new terminal design, helping landside retailers to healthy sales in categories like gifts and souvenirs.
“As happened when Chubu Airport opened five years ago, we have had many visitors coming to enjoy the new airport – some TV reports put the numbers at up to 70,000 visitors per day, including passengers,” said Hayashi.
Hayashi said that customer response had been enthusiastic to the Edo Market development, a recreation of Tokyo as it was during the Edo Period (1603–1868), located on the fourth floor landside. “We are selling not only commercial merchandise but also folk merchandise and crafts here,” Hayashi said.
On the fifth floor, in the trendy Tokyo Pop Town area, JATCo has unveiled a Hello Kitty Japan store which is achieving “very good sales”. The store features products exclusive to Haneda.
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Bvlgari (above), Chanel and Gucci are among the 11 new fashion boutiques at the terminal |
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Edo Market recreates the flavour of old Tokyo |
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Craft items are a drawcard for shoppers at the Edo Market |
JATCo leads commercial management
TIAT has given JATCo the management responsibility for all the retail in the new terminal, reflecting the company’s expertise as well as its strong foothold at Haneda – where it operates the domestic terminals and is the major shareholder in TIAT.
Summarising the retail profile, Hayashi explained that airside the terminal had four duty free shops, 11 fashion boutiques, eight speciality stores and four food & beverage outlets.
JATCo has its own contract for two of the duty free shops (one large general duty free and one smaller store focused on cosmetics), and manages the other two on behalf of JAL/DFS and ANA respectively. The shops all operate under the TIAT Duty Free Shop brand.
The fashion boutiques featured are Chanel, Hermès, Gucci, Bvlgari, Rolex, Cartier, Ferragamo, Tiffany, Burberry, Omega and Coach.
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Rolex and Hermès (top), Cartier (above) and Coach give a sense of luxury to the airside retail offer |
