UK. WHSmith Travel yesterday (29 March) celebrated the official opening for curi.o.city – a specialist destination merchandise retail offer – at Gatwick Airport North and South terminals.
The design-led London experience features more than 1,200sq ft of selling space across both units.
WHSmith Managing Director Andrew Harrison said: “It’s quite interesting for us to do something that’s much more curated and visual merchandising-led, compared to WHSmith volume stores, which people rush through.”
Gatwick Airport Retail Director Rachel Bulford commented, “We are delighted to welcome WHSmith’s two new unique and inspiring concept stores, curi.o.city, to Gatwick Airport. The stores have already proved incredibly popular additions to our North and South Terminal departure lounges.
“The whole concept created by curi.o.city promotes Gatwick’s location as a London airport, while also celebrating aspects of the southeast as a region. The fantastic range of products and gifts showcase some of London’s best-loved brands and attractions.”
Gatwick Airport Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Pollard told The Moodie Davitt Report: “Last year we commissioned some researchers to identify what passengers felt was missing when they came to Gatwick. And one clear piece of feedback was that they wanted more premium gifting opportunities. curi.o.city provides passengers with the ability to buy things that they can’t easily access elsewhere – within a standalone format.”
The store design takes inspiration from London landmarks, featuring contemporary brickwork and the Union Jack, bolstered with clear branding and navigation.
WHSmith Buying Manager Clare Morant said, “curi.o.city has been about a year in the making, from concept to curating the product range. There are 70 different suppliers for the store, and 40% of the products are made in the UK.”
While part of the store offers licensed product ranges from ZSL London Zoo, the Natural History Museum, Harry Potter and Paddington, the other half showcases independent British brands such as Biscuiteers, Cambridge Distillery, East London Liquor Co., Ask Mummy & Daddy and Grind.
“WHSmith buyers visited trade shows, scouting local suppliers to make sure that when tourists go through the store, they can buy a memento or a gift that reminds them of their trip to London. It’s an eclectic mix of products, touching different categories and price points,” said Morant.
Harrison said, “Paddington is the star of the show – our current bestseller. A lot of tourists are buying the coronation edition to remind themselves of their London trip and the upcoming coronation of King Charles III.”
The store sections have different themes, including Notting Hill (the biggest non-licensed range), East London and Heritage. Morant explained: “Notting Hill is famous for its colourful architecture, restaurants and cafés, so the colour palette is inspired from that. We selected brands that lend themselves to that trend.
“Urban London has more unisex consumers, so we chose a darker colour palette. East London is famous for its trendy nightclubs and cafes, so we’ve drawn from brands that represent that trend.”
On the other hand, the Heritage category pays tribute to the monarchy with a premium product selection. “It has a deeper colour palette, with lots of gold foiling. For this, we’ve worked with V&A Museum, Kew Gardens and some of the more giftable licences,” added Morant.
Harrison added, “There are lots of products from small and medium-sized enterprises and family businesses, for example Cambridge Distillery, which has exclusive access to botanicals within the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.”
“It’s these lovely little stories about each of the premium products that make up the gifting store. We’ve tried to design the store in a different way, so that customers can browse and explore it.”
Morant said, “This is where the name curi.o.city came from. You’re curious, because the product offer can evolve. It’s not like we only sell clothing, food and alcohol – it will continue to evolve based on new brands that come into the market, which is quite exciting.”
“At the moment we’re focusing on London, because that’s one of our biggest markets,” added Harrison. “The plan then is that curi.o.city can multiply, not just nationally, but internationally.
“We’re about to roll out curi.o.city at St Pancras station and Selfridges in London, and soon Birmingham and Manchester will also have curi.o.city implants – but these will be more stationery-heavy.”
At the moment, the WHSmith and Gatwick Airport teams arebusy getting ready for the Easter weekend. Harrison said, “We’ll have families with kids coming through; the whole demographic of the airport changes in the next few days.”
“Our purpose at WHSmith is to enhance our customers’ journey by providing a great range of products and excellent service from an easy-to-navigate store. The launch of our new curi.o.city stores delivers on all this and more; our giftable ranges and truly localised offer ensures an exciting and memorable retail experience.
“We have received great feedback from passengers travelling through the airport and the team looks forward to welcoming more customers over the coming months.” ✈
This story will be followed by an exclusive interview with WHSmith Managing Director Andrew Harrison and Gatwick Airport Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Pollard.
