Introduction: At the official opening of WHSmith curi.o.city in Gatwick Airport North Terminal on 29 March, The Moodie Davitt Report caught up with WHSmith Managing Director Andrew Harrison and Gatwick Airport Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Pollard to discuss what went into bringing the new concept store to life.
Setting a fine example of partnership in travel retail, the WHSmith and Gatwick Airport teams worked in tandem to research consumer trends, conceptualise the store and overcome complex challenges, as our Assistant Editor Ameesha Raizada discovers.
Kit made his way through the crowded streets, dividing the stream of people, dashing across the busy road-ways, diving into lanes and alleys, and stopping or turning aside for nothing, until he came in front of the Old Curiosity Shop, when he came to a stand; partly from habit and partly from being out of breath. – The Old Curiosity Shop, Charles Dicken.
curi.o.city, a concept in the works for about a year, is a store designed for travelling consumers to “explore”, discovering gifts and souvenirs not just for others but themselves, says WHSmith Managing Director Andrew Harrison.
“What we wanted to do is find a business model that reminds people of where they are right now,” he says. “For example, if they’re in Gatwick, how can we find a range of products that have a strong link to London? That’s what we started with, and then questioned who our customers are.”
In 2022, Gatwick Airport commissioned researchers to identify what passengers felt was missing when they visited the airport. “One clear piece of feedback was that they wanted more premium gifting opportunities,” says Gatwick Airport Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Pollard.
The research team also examined the airport’s existing allocation of space and how well that aligned with customer needs. “It revealed to us the gaps that we needed to address over the years to stay as relevant as possible,” Pollard notes.
“curi.o.city is a design concept that can be reworked in any location,” adds Harrison. “It’s really tailored and personal: 25% of our range is exclusive to us, and 25% is made or designed in the UK.”
The Gatwick team provided extensive feedback to WHSmith and according to Pollard, “What we see today is the result of months of collaborating very closely.
“From the very beginning, there was an alignment in what we both felt was going to be a unique and novelty offering for passengers. We provided feedback to WHSmith, and they have been very receptive to that.”
curi.o.city, divided into different sections inspired by the city of London – Notting Hill, Kensington and Brick Lane – is about curating a versatile shopping experience for passengers.
Of the partnership with WHSmith, Pollard says: “We feel that this has been almost like a co-creation. We’ve been in the WHSmith offices with the product team, the creative directors – we’ve been very much a part of cultivating something that’s unique.
“And that is a testament to the strength of the relationship we have with WHSmith. We both share the philosophy that if we can collaborate and work together, we will deliver a better outcome overall.”
Harrison explains that WHSmith and Gatwick Airport collaborated on everything from merchandise curation to store design: “It was really great to see the Gatwick Airport team with our buying team, walking around, discussing the products and saying, ‘Is that going to work for my customer? Is that going to work?’ It was truly a collaborative effort.”
Drawn from 70 core suppliers, the product range for curi.o.city is customisable for different locations. Harrison explains: “We tried to find products that have strong UK stories. Either they’re produced or designed locally, or they’re small/medium enterprises, family-run businesses.
“What that means is that when we move to another city in the UK, for example, we could switch 20 brands, which are very local and centric to London, and bring in another 20 or so brands, which have more of an affinity to another location.” Consequently, the store supports small businesses by introducing them to the travel retail landscape.
Who’s curi.o.city for?
While international travellers form a key part of curi.o.city’s demographic, the store also targets domestic consumers to drive sales. Harrison says: “The customers who spend the most are UK domestic day-trippers. People who travelled to London, for example on a day trip or an overnight stay. They’re the type of customers who don’t necessarily want the red, white and blue products that international customers are into.
“It’s really important to offer them a type of product that is manufactured in the UK and has a beautiful brand story.”
Catering to the corporate traveller as well, curi.o.city offers something for everyone, according to Harrison. He explains: “There are two things when you’re travelling on business: you take gifts for the people that you’re going to see. And so a lot of the products that we’ve got are quite sophisticated, suited for premium gifting.
“Equally, what you find is that corporate travellers are also moms and dads travelling back home. Being able to pick something up as a gift is really relevant, especially if you’ve been away for a couple of weeks.
“The other thing about corporate travellers is that, while travelling on business, the only time they find themselves in a physical retail environment is at the airport. We’re trying to give them products that they can just go and explore.”
WHSmith went through several iterations to try and create a store that didn’t look like a traditional WHSmith, notes Harrison. “We wanted to try something that felt very different, something that had a resonance with London.”
With the Union Jack, walls plastered with brickwork and graffiti, the store is “authentically London”. The different zones are easy to navigate, yet flexible for displaying new product ranges.
The year so far
In the first three months of 2023, Gatwick Airport’s commercial performance has been promising. “We’re very positive this year. Last year we had some challenges with having the whole retail estate open. Some of the units that were open couldn’t operate at their normal capacity,” says Pollard.
“This year, we will have the full estate open, and they [the units] will be fully resourced. I’m very confident that with the broadening of choices and offers that we’re providing, we’ll also see people spend more in totality.” The airport’s mission is to provide relevant offers for every single customer, adds Pollard.
Asked about changes in passenger expectations and demography post the pandemic, Pollard says: “What we have seen is a continued and strengthening appetite for food & beverage. We are seeing a return towards a preference for sit-down restaurant cuisine.
“We’re seeing people spend more because they’re enjoying being back in an airport. And of course, in the duty free world, we’re seeing people avail of significantly better prices on liquor and tobacco.”
Pollard mentions that the airport is still anticipating a return this year to 2019 revenue levels. “Leisure travel is certainly very, very strong. Short breaks are recovering at quite a good pace. Business is lagging, but we expect that it will recover.”
Out of darkness
Harrison tells The Moodie Davitt Report that during the pandemic, there were certain days when WHSmith’s business was -98% down from pre-COVID levels as people weren’t travelling. “We carried on trading, because we thought it was important to support the staff that were still working at airports, hospitals and railway stations.
“But thankfully, over the last two years, we’ve started to see business turn around. It came back very quickly, culminating in last summer, when even though passenger footfall hadn’t recovered to anywhere near 2018-2019 levels at airports, we had our biggest summer ever in terms of sales.
“We’re in a closed period right now, so we can’t really talk about how and where the numbers are at. But yes, we’re sustaining that momentum.”
Harrison said the team has several store openings in the pipeline.“In terms of curi.o.city, we are opening two stores in Selfridges, and one each in Manchester and Birmingham. And next month, we have an opening at St. Pancras Station [London].”
When it comes to sales expectations from the new Gatwick store, Harrison notes: “curi.o.city will drive sales through higher average transaction values rather than more buying volume. It’s a store that really focuses on curation of products and visual merchandising.”
Part of the wider diversification of WHSmith’s retail concept, curi.o.city allows the retailer to offer a broader range of products and brand stories to travelling consumers. “Clearly, WHSmith stores are the beating heart of airports,” says Harrison. “Over 30% of departing travellers through Gatwick will make a purchase in a WHSmith. curi.o.city allows us to do a more complete job of the premium gifting side of things.”
The Gatwick Airport team is also looking forward to the opening of several new units, Pollard reveals. “We have the Breakfast Club launching in the summer. Then we have a Vagabond opening, with their unique automated wine service where you can pour a glass of wine automated through a machine. Understandably, that’s been very popular with certain audiences in the Gatwick business.
“We have a craft beer offer that opens later this year with a very exciting brand – which unfortunately we can’t reveal just yet.”
Pollard concludes: “I want to be associated with airport-firsts – places where passengers can get an airport experience that they can’t elsewhere. And curi.o.city today is one good example of a very clear airport-first.” ✈
