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Vienna Airport CEO Julian Jäger and Gunnar Heinemann celebrate the opening of the retailer’s new space |
AUSTRIA. Gebr Heinemann has opened 2,000sq m of new retail space at Vienna Airport’s new Skylink terminal extension. The units include four Heinemann Duty Free outlets plus a Hugo Boss store. The retailer now employs 230 people at the airport, having added 80 at the new facility.
“Vienna Airport and Heinemann Duty Free have been partners for many years, and we look forward to continuing our successful working relationship in the expanded terminal,” said Julian Jäger, Chief Executive Officer of Flughafen Wien AG.
“Now that the new stores are open, we will work together to offer passengers a shopping experience that is even more interesting and diverse,” added Gebr Heinemann Co-owner Gunnar Heinemann. “Vienna is the airport for the capital of Austria and a transport hub for Europe, so this is an important base for our company. We are delighted to be bringing the Heinemann Duty Free brand to the new building and offering our customers even more good deals and services.”
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Gebr Heinemann has opened 2,000sq m of retail, including a Hugo Boss boutique |
The retailer pledges to deliver “an exciting world of surprises” to passengers. A section of floor space has been reserved for evolving product ranges that change every other month. These Heinemann’s Choice promotional stages are used to showcase exclusive new offers and products passengers would not expect to see at an airport, the company said.
A key feature of Heinemann Duty Free shops is the Regionals zone, where leading products, specialities and delicacies typical of the region are presented. At the new terminal in Vienna, this space was designed by renowned Vienna-based architects Coop Himmelb(l)au. The shape of the store furnishings they created was inspired by the Viennese waltz: the architects used the movement generated by the steps of the waltz, its tempo and the sense of floating to create display units.
“Our approach gave rise to an expansive, dynamic sculpture that sways through the shop rhythmically,” said Professor Wolf D. Prix, co-founder of Coop Himmelb(l)au. A discreet Johann Strauss melody also plays faintly in the background to complete the impression. The display is painted in gold, said to conjure echoes of Vienna’s art deco architecture.
“The duty free shops at Vienna Airport have an Austrian identity thanks to our wide selection of typically Austrian products,” said Heinemann Retail Manager Constantin Wiesmann. “By embracing the theme of Austria as a place with much to enjoy, we are inviting shoppers from all over the world to take a piece of the country home with them.”
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The openings extend the presence of the Heinemann Duty Free brand in key European markets |
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Featured Austrian products include select wines from Esterházy (cultivated on a wine-growing estate south of the capital, close to Lake Neusiedl) and sparkling wine from the Austrian manufacturer Schlumberger. “Other firm favourites with travellers are premium quality pralines by Heindl and the famous Julius Meinl coffee.” The product range also features fine brandies from Reisetbauer of Upper Austria, the Gölles distillery in Styria and Hämmerle – plus Marillenschnaps from the Wachau region and a variety of Mozart liqueurs.
