TURKEY. Nuance-NET Duty Free officially unveiled its new travel retail offer at Antalya Airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2 on Friday.
Senior executives from the joint venture retailer and airport operator ICF Airports (a joint venture between Fraport and IC Ictas Holding which runs all Antalya Airport’s terminals) were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony (pictured below), which marked the latest expression of The Nuance Group’s evolving European duty free store concept.
 |
A heart-warming moment for Nuance-NET and ICF Airports as the new retail offer is officially inaugurated |
 |
The Nuance Group CEO Europe Andrea Belardini described the T2 opening as “the latest step in a journey”, which over the past year has featured several major openings, including Antalya Airport T1, Zürich Airport Arrivals and Departures and Geneva Airport Arrivals. On 29 May the journey continues when the retailer’s Portuguese joint venture, Lojas Francas de Portugal, opens a further new concept store at Lisbon International Airport.
https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/132184543&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true
The Antalya offer (which we will assess in greater depth with further video coverage in this week’s edition of The Moodie Report e-Zine) features Nuance’s now familiar European hallmarks, including a range of signature generic ‘Boutique’ concepts, a strong emphasis on interactive technology, regulated gondola heights, wide aisles and excellent sight lines.
Belardini told The Moodie Report: “This is a fantastic shop in terms of its shape and architecture, particularly in terms of the high ceilings which give us a better chance to fully express our new commercial approach that we have been designing over the past two years. We’re very, very happy. It’s all about the shopping experience and about the consumer being excited. You can see it happening here.
“We wanted to achieve strong brand visibility through the studio concepts with the key leading brands but at the same time we wanted to have our own areas where we could interact with the consumer. Here promotion is not so much about price, it’s about newness and getting the right gifting offer [click on Podcast icon to hear full interview].”
Earlier, Belardini added in an official statement: “This represents the next generation of the innovative store blueprint that we have developed and evolved to ensure we continue to raise the bar in improving the shopping experience to airport travellers. The results coming from the roll-out of our new commercial approach are very encouraging and we are pleased that, a year after the launch of the new store format in Antalya T1, we have achieved a number of further improvements in terms of innovation, premiumisation, brand focus and consumer engagement.”
The T2 redevelopment includes six new speciality shops, a key focus for Nuance. “We managed to deliver this truly exciting experience for consumers travelling through Antalya Airport thanks to an extraordinary spirit of partnership and collaboration with our airport and brand partners, as well as the hard work and passion of our teams,” said Belardini.
 |
Passengers clearing the new centralised security system get a clear view of the impending Nuance-NET Duty Free offer |
ICF Airports Antalya Board Member Yaşar Döngel said: “After the launch of an innovative retail environment at Antalya Airport T1 in May 2011, now extending it to Terminal 2 reflects the continuation of our close collaboration with The Nuance Group and this also extends our joint commitment to deliver a superior retail experience for our travellers.”
Nuance-NET Duty Free Managing Director Cengiz Iman told The Moodie Report (listen to his Podcast for more comment): “We are extremely proud to open a second and bigger store one year after the opening of Terminal 1. We are getting good feedback from customers; we are seeing that spend per passenger is very satisfactory, even more than we expected.
 |
These images (above and below) capture the wide-open, high-visibility nature of the main store |
 |
 |
 |
 |
“We are one of those lucky countries that has a big number of Russian travellers, who are excellent spenders. Today they are around 27-28% of the total passengers at Antalya. Obviously with Russians spending on the high-end products, we cannot ignore the remaining countries, so we offer a wide variety of choice.
“We are absolutely delighted with the initial performance results coming through and we can’t wait for those real busy, buzzing, real peak months ahead.”
 Antalya Airport – where a retailer’s dreams come true |
| What would Nuance give for a few more Antalyas in its portfolio? A place where a retailer’s dreams really do come true. |
| More on The Moodie Blog |
The T2 development signifies a major investment by the airport operator. Infrastructure changes include a recently introduced centralised security area, allowing Nuance to redesign and maximise the appeal of its T2 retail offer.
The new 998sq m ‘walk-by’ duty free store is open on all three sides, offering over 8,000 products. High ceilings, supported by Nuance’s design principles, underpin the retailer’s ambition to deliver excellent visibility and customer circulation.
Nuance-NET offers a series of generic boutiques for fragrances, Cognac, whisky, cigars and confectionery, all clearly segmented to help customers identify ‘hero categories’, locate best sellers, new items, special promotions and gifting ideas.
The Nuance Group Commercial Director Europe Alex Anson-Esparza told The Moodie Report: “From T1 we’ve taken on a lot of learnings – in terms of flooring, technology, generic concepts, visibility, minimum aisle widths, maximum gondola heights and so on.
“We’ve made every effort to improve visibility in all our stores through gondola height and width and we’ve tried to make our customers comfortable in-store.”
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The main store deploys touch-screen technology (introduced in T1 last May) to provide customers with product information across all core categories. At the touch of a screen, shoppers can learn about the history of whisky or discover latest offers and product suggestions. Within the ‘Fragrance Boutique’, an olfactory wheel displays fragrances categorised by scent type, supported by touch-screen tablets that enable customers to find product details or gift ideas.
Due to a boom in high-spending Russian and other East European travellers, Nuance-NET has introduced several new upscale elements. A super-premium zone has been incorporated within the perfumes and cosmetics department, featuring brands such as Tom Ford, a first for Nuance worldwide. This is complemented by several mini-boutiques, featuring fragrance and cosmetics houses such as Chanel, YSL, Armani, Dior, Lancôme and Estée Lauder. [We’ll bring you more big news about the fragrances & cosmetics offer in coming days -Ed]
A wide choice of super-premium Champagne and spirits is offered, including Polignac Prince Special Reserve Grande, The Balvenie 40yo, Glenfiddich 1964, Louis Roederer Cristal Rose, Louis XIII de Rémy Martin and Armand de Brignac Blanc Champagne. Cigar aficionados are served by a walk-in humidor featuring a wide range of cigars and accessories.
The store’s extensive events space enjoys a high-profile position in a dedicated promotional zone on the main walk-through pathway, “ensuring strong brand visibility, passenger engagement and response”, Nuance-NET said.
 |  |
Andrea Belardini and Cengiz Iman welcome VIPs and guests to Nuance-NET’s new-look Terminal 2 duty free shopping offer; (Right) Heavy in-store promotion is a key aspect of the retailer’s approach to customer engagement | |
 |
Robbie Gill, Director of The Design Solution, who played the lead role on the store design, chats with Andrea Belardini |
 |
From left: Alex Anson-Esparza, Cengiz Iman, Andrea Belardini and Robbie Gill enjoy the moment |
The retailer plans a year-round programme of store activity, from fragrance launches and special offers to seasonal events. Throughout May it has partnered with P&G Prestige in a promotional concept for Boss Bottled Sport at Antalya T1 and T2. Incorporating an interactive F1 game, the 15sq m installation is designed to encourage travellers to sample the latest addition to the Boss range.
Anson-Esparza said: “Building strong relationships with our brand partners such as P&G is key to our success and ensures we are able to deliver an outstanding retail experience that reflects our joint commitment to excellence in quality, innovation and service. This new activation for Boss Bottled Sport will complement our existing array of retail opportunities and I am confident will generate fantastic customer engagement and response.”
The store’s permanent tasting areas allow complimentary tastings for a wide range of liquor and confectionery brands, such as St Brendan’s Irish Cream liqueur and Finlandia vodka which are currently being offered.
SPECIALITY RETAIL FLOURISHES
Nuance also unveiled six new concept stores covering 344sq m of retail space, featuring items such as sunglasses, fashion accessories, luxury and mid-priced watches and small leathergoods. [We’ll examine these in detail in this week’s e-Zine].
 |
Speciality retail, from luxury watches (above) to fashion, accessories, sunglasses and destination merchandise (below), is an integral part of Nuance-NET Duty Free’s efforts to maximise penetration across the entire passenger demographic |
 |
 |
 |
The Turkish ID store offers a range of regional products, including local food specialities and souvenirs, while a new children’s toy and candy shop caters to the increasing numbers of families using T2.
Nuance now operates 25 shops across more than 3,600sq m of retail space in both international terminals at Antalya Airport.
FOOTNOTE: Look out for our major report on Antalya Airport T2 in this week’s issued of The Moodie Report e-Zine.
 |
Images from opening day (above and below) |
 |
 |
Nuance-NET uses signage cleverly throughout the terminal to promote the duty free shopping offer to passengers, including within the trays at security and (above) in the main food & beverage areas |
 |
Driven by its high-spending Russian clients, Nuance-NET has placed a high emphasis on premium products |
 |
A great shot that encapsulates the air of excitement and consumer engagement that T2 exudes |
 |
Nuance-NET also provides an extensive Arrivals duty free offer at both terminals |
 |
Big crowds line up at check-in on Friday but peak season will really see traffic (and duty free sales) pick up |
