Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Strange Nature Gin from New Zealand, celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere.
SWEDEN. Our images today come from Stockholm Arlanda Airport, where Avolta is offering a handsome perk to members of its very recently rebranded loyalty programme, Club Avolta.
The travel experience leader has partnered with Barbers of Sweden to offer members complimentary haircuts, beard trims and other grooming services.
The renowned barber brand, based in Stockholm city centre, has numerous celebrities among its client base including Kiwi actor Russell Crowe, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In the words of Avolta, Barbers of Sweden delivers “a combination of amazing customer service, a fantastic ambiance and a deep knowledge of treatments, offering a pleasant experience for men of all ages”.
So successful has the initiative been, that Barbers of Sweden’s appearance is now a bi-monthly fixture in the events calendar at the flagship Avolta store in Stockholm Arlanda Terminal 5.
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report about how the partnership came about, Avolta Nordic Marketing Manager Susanne Elmquist told us: “A few years back we organised a barber activity at Arlanda, in collaboration with a famous Swedish barber and Biotherm Home. It was such a big success, with travellers queueing to be groomed.
“This gave us an idea to collaborate with the best local barber brand, Barbers of Sweden, to offer a service that many male travellers were looking for, before flying out from Arlanda. Since then, Barbers of Sweden have been visiting our ‘Store of the Future’ on a frequent basis, to groom travellers and promote our grooming products.”
Travellers can access the service simply by showing their Club Avolta app to the barber, before taking a seat in a professional barber chair. Elmquist noted it is not unusual to see a queue of men waiting for the free service.
She added: “Working with Barbers of Sweden allows us to offer our loyal customers something extraordinary, to make the journey as enjoyable as their destination.
“By inviting them to sit down for a personalised service, we allow customers to really interact with our products, which are promoted by a professional barber with great knowledge of these products. Our airport partner Swedavia promotes the service in their channels, helping us to reach even more travellers.”
Barbers of Sweden CEO Johan Ure told The Moodie Davitt Report: “We always enjoy coming to the duty free at Arlanda. The services we offer there are much appreciated among travellers and it’s a joy to see them leaving the shop happy and newly groomed.
“It’s about being close to the clients when they need us the most. As a man I know that we won’t travel without having our hair and beard done. ✈️
Creating a new kind of ATV at Hong Kong AirportBy Gate 43 I discovered an express hairdresser called QB Premium Haircut & Style. As I had plenty of time before my flight, I decided to try it out. The more unkind of you among my readers might point out that any hairdressing service I have is by definition of the express kind. And that it could have been final call way back at Gate 15, and I still could have had my hair cut and got back in time for my flight. So very cruel.  “Could you do me a number one cut?” I asked him {For the uninitiated, a number one refers to the shortest guard on an electric trimmer. A zero requires no guard and is basically a shaved head. And I wouldn’t want that, would I?}. “Of course. Come in.” He had the smile of a man who knew his ATV (average trim value) was about to soar. Based on the shiny pate in front of him, he must have calculated he was earning around HK$25 a hair. But I didn’t care. Jokes about my baldness wore thin years ago. And while I wouldn’t say I live in hope of a miracle cure, I still keep my comb, just in case. I just can’t seem to part with it. |
