MALAYSIA. Following its announcement last month of the delay in the opening of klia2, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) continues to work on fine tuning the commercial offer and enhancing service quality at its existing locations.
MAHB is now taking action against the contractors of the project – in an announcement to Bursa Malaysia Securities on 29 May, the airport company underlined its decision to impose Liquidated Ascertained Damages (LAD) on the respective contractors and “any other recourse available to MAHB under the contract”. It added that it has taken note “of the contractors’ notification that they are unable to meet their contractual obligations for the opening date of 28 June 2013 for klia2”.
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“The earlier we open klia2, the better, so we can move on to the other projects that we are handling at the moment. It is about time that we stop talking and start delivering – I’m anxious to come to that stage“ |
Puan Faizah Khairuddin Senior General Manager Commercial Services Malaysia Airports |
No new date has been announced, as the contractors have requested time to revert with a revised date, the statement concluded.
MAHB is choosing to focus instead on making the best out of a challenging situation. Speaking to The Moodie Report recently, MAHB Senior General Manager of Commercial Services Puan Faizah Khairuddin said that the delay “actually creates a good opportunity for us to be more prepared for the opening day”.
She added: “It is also an opportunity for us to review and fine tune the offer – right down to the product and brand mix – because what we have at the moment is still quite raw. This [period of delay] will be taken to further engage the retailers so that there will be lesser duplication in our offerings. This is also important, ultimately, for our space optimisation.”
The initial announcement about the delay on 7 May, Khairuddin explained, was more for the benefit of the retailers involved. “We wanted to be transparent, so that they could manage and mitigate any potential losses. So if they were making arrangements for stocks and manpower, at least they had the correct picture, and could plan and manage these accordingly – that was the purpose of the announcement.”
The retailers, in turn, could convey the revised expectations to their brand partners. Eraman, the retail subsidiary of MAHB and main concessionaire in klia2, did just that at an invite-only gathering last month with its brand and retail partners at the TFWA Asia Pacific in Singapore.
Reactions from the retailers have generally been positive, Khairuddin revealed. “I think this is due to the fact that we have always engaged them, every step of the way. We engage them at the planning stage, before tendering, and even during this stage when we are faced with challenges.”
The focus now is on getting down to the details and putting more work “into the qualitative side of things”. One of the biggest challenges is striking the right balance between the overarching airport theme and the individual brand identities, especially in the duty free walkthrough areas.
“We have a clear proposition in terms of the overall retail branding of klia2, and we want to uphold this branding. Within this, we have the store branding (i.e. the multi-brand outlets) and within that, the individual brands. How do we blend all three together without diluting any one of them?
“As the moderator, MAHB has to make sure that consumers remain at the core of the entire offer – at the end of the day, the consumers are the judges. The right formula will be reflected in the sales results. I believe that if we get it right – and now we have the time to get it right – it will be a good learning point and this formula can then be migrated to our other airports.”
The delay of klia2 has overshadowed some of MAHB’s other projects, such as the Retail Optimisation Project (ROP) for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which was still in the planning stages. “The earlier we open klia2, the better, so we can move on to the other projects that we are handling at the moment. It is about time that we stop talking and start delivering – I’m anxious to come to that stage.”
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Initially set to open on 28 June, klia2 is now awaiting a revised date from the contractors |
Retail and customer service excellence to the fore
MAHB has maintained its Indulge Till You Fly (ITUF) 2012/2013 retail campaign and Touch Campaign, an initiative that aims to cultivate customer service excellence.
The former recently awarded a grand prize of a RM1 million (US$324,300) shopping spree at KLIA to Yusof Bin Mohamad, a teacher from Terengganu. He was flown into KLIA via business class and given two nights’ stay in a five-star hotel, courtesy of MasterCard International, who also provided the winner with the services of a personal shopper.
“The ITUF Campaign is an annual event aimed at giving travellers and visitors various options and opportunities to indulge themselves and be rewarded handsomely. It underpins our strategic move – to raise awareness that airports are lifestyle destinations with lots to offer, sometimes more so than downtown malls,” said Khairuddin.
“This year’s ITUF campaign with its RM1 million shopping spree offering is our biggest reward yet for a traveller to/from Malaysia,” she added.
The 2012/2013 ITUF Campaign was held from 19 July 2012 until 28 February 2013 across Malaysia’s international airports – KLIA/LCCT-KLIA (KLIA Low-Cost Carrier Terminal), Penang International Airport, Langkawi International Airport, Kuching International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
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An elated Yusof Bin Mohamad (middle) and his wife Ramlah Binti Muda (second from left) being presented with the RM1 million cash voucher; flanking them are Malaysia Airports Senior General Manager Commercial Services Puan Faizah Khairuddin (far left), Malaysia Airports Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah (second from right), and Malaysia Airports Senior General Manager Operations Services Datuk Azmi Murad (far right) |
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Yusof Bin Mohamad goes on a no-holds-barred shopping spree after his RM1 million win |
To participate in the campaign, travellers had to spend a minimum of RM250 (US$81) at any participating food & beverage or retail outlets at the five participating international airports. With that amount, they were automatically entitled to instant cash shopping vouchers worth RM10 (US$3.20).
Eligible participants used the Indulge & Win e-kiosks to take part in the contest and to redeem their on-the-spot shopping vouchers. Cardholders who used MasterCard received double the shopping vouchers and double the contest entry forms, increasing their chances of being the grand prize winner and/or winner of one of the six Indulger prizes.
Information captured at the kiosks was uploaded to an off-site server computer that randomly selected six Indulger prize winners every month. Indulger prizes were RM10,000 (US$3,243) each in shopping vouchers while the grand prize was RM1 million.
Besides the travellers, Malaysia Airports also rewarded its concessionaires for their support of the campaign. Under the Concessionaires Incentives Scheme, concessionaires were rewarded based on (1) the most number of receipts submitted every month throughout the Indulge & Win contest in each of the five international airports, and (2) the most number of receipts submitted every month throughout the entire Indulge & Win contest which were randomly selected as monthly winners.
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The Touch Campaign has produced two Touch Campaign Ambassadors – Miko Ng (far left) and Khairul Faris b. Shafiei (far right), who will become mentors and role models to work with other frontliners to elevate the standard of customer service |
“Taking last year’s campaign as a benchmark, we recorded a +57% increase in the number of entries received, +134% increase in total sales and a +50% increase in average spend per passenger,” Khairuddin revealed.
The rewards of the campaign, however, were more than just financial. Describing her meeting with the grand prize winner, Khairuddin said: “It was very striking to me that he was very, very happy – it was like a dream come true for him. We didn’t see that when we were giving away cars.”
The winner had chosen to dine at a Japanese restaurant in KLIA, confessing that it was his first time eating at a Japanese restaurant. “It heartened me because we were not just giving away money but giving someone the experience of a lifetime,” she explained.
MAHB had cameramen following the winner on his shopping spree and is intending to create a film of the journey and to promote it on its social media platform, creating “prolonged excitement”. “We want people to see how much KLIA has to offer, that our winner could purchase up to RM1 million in products,” she said.
Similarly, the success of the Touch Campaign has encouraged MAHB to make the customer service excellence initiative an annual affair. Since the start of the campaign, there has been a positive change in behaviour from frontline staff at KLIA, Khairuddin noted, as well as a fostering of a sense of community, or “kampong spirit”.
“The sales staff now stand at the front of the shop to greet passengers the Malaysian way, with their left hand on the chest, consistently. And the moment they see a customer, they will come forward and address them appropriately. I think this is a very important and heartening change, and the first step in branding service at KLIA. The Touch campaign has won two marketing awards, which is further validation that we are doing the right thing,” she said.
Future Touch campaigns will run concurrently with the ITUF retail campaigns, and Khairuddin hopes to see the two converge under one umbrella campaign in the future.
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The Touch Campaign won the Gold Award for Excellence in Public Relations Internal and the Silver Award for Public Relations Corporate Communications at the Marketing Excellence Awards 2013 |
Launch of mobile app
In other news, MAHB has also recently launched a mobile app for KLIA passengers, providing the latest information on outlet locations, promotions, and airport services and facilities in the airport.
“Ensuring the growth and success of our commercial services is a vital component of our overall business growth. It is a move that will enable us to stay ahead of the curve. This involves constantly identifying diverse, creative and innovative platforms to ensure that a larger proportion of our customers are engaged in the manner which they are familiar. The launch of our latest mobile app launch is an example of such an initiative,” Khairuddin explained.
“Many passengers spend time wandering through the airport in search of their favourite outlet while waiting to board a flight. This takes up valuable time which could otherwise be spent indulging and relaxing at their desired outlet.
“The introduction of this new app will mean that now they have all the required information even before they arrive at the airport, thus enabling them to better plan their time at the airport for a stress- and hassle-free experience.”
The mobile app, developed by MAHB, is available for download from iTunes and Play Store. It can be operated on both iOS and Android platforms and comes with Facebook, Twitter and email social sharing functions.
“The introduction of the mobile app supports our overall commercial strategy to create an attractive and appealing lifestyle environment for travellers. It complements our other technology-based initiatives that are already in place such as the iButterfly and the introduction of the Indulge & Win e-kiosks. This ongoing employment of technology will continue to be an integral part of the lifestyle experiences which Malaysia Airports strive to provide to our customers,” she concluded.
