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Sense of Place was key when assessing the tender offers, said Keflavik Airport |
ICELAND. Airport company Isavia has named the winners of its speciality retail and food & beverage tenders in the upgraded Departures Lounge at Keflavik International Airport. It said that the new concessions programme would deliver a sales uplift of +60% through retail and F&B.
In retail, existing stores 66°North, Blue Lagoon, Elko, Eymundsson, Optical Studio and the Iceland Gift Store (Rammagerðin) won contracts to continue their operations. In addition, leading Nordic fashion specialist Airport Retail Group won a concession, through which it will offer clothing from leading international as well as Icelandic brands.
Two groups will operate food & beverage concessions in the redeveloped terminal. Joe Ãsland will open a Joe and the Juice sandwich and juice bar. And as reported, local company Nord (NQ) in collaboration with LS travel retail will operate a self-service concept, a Segafredo Zanetti café, a local Icelandic bar, a tailor-made bar-kitchen concept, largely inspired by the Icelandic environment, plus a gourmet retail store offering local products.
“The changes will involve a considerable increase in the range of products on offer in the air terminal,” said Isavia in a statement.
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New retail and F&B units will open in phases from spring 2015 |
Isavia said it received 71 bids for the various spaces. It noted that in its selection process, “a number of factors were assessed, such as services, product range and various financial and operational factors, as well as a focus on the Sense of Place”.
Construction work in the Departures Lounge begins in November and will be completed by next Spring, said Isavia.
It added: “The alterations that will be made will enlarge the area occupied by retail and food & beverage outlets so that the terminal will be able to serve the increased number of passengers expected in the next few years. This will mean an increase in the number of jobs in the air terminal and increased income from the retail area, which will support important future investments required at the airport.”
Isavia Managing Director Bjorn Oli Hauksson said: “We are extremely pleased with the results of the selection process. The goal was to increase revenue from commercial operation, open the market and encourage increased competition by using as transparent a process as possible in selecting operators. In addition, we focused on ensuring visible connections with Iceland in the range of products and refreshments. We are of the opinion that we have achieved this goal.
“We anticipate that our income from this part of the commercial area will increase by +60%. The return on investment will be around two and a half years through the increase in income. In addition, we will be earning income for projects that we will need to embark on in the near future.
“It is good to see how well Icelandic companies did in the international competition involved in the concession process and how competitive they are. Likewise, the great interest shown by very competitive international companies in operating in the air terminal shows the attractiveness of operating at Keflavik Airport.”
