FRANCE. “Aéroports de Paris is in the throes of transformation.” So declared chairman Pierre Graff at a packed press conference at Paris Charles de Gaulle yesterday, which formally celebrated the opening of the new terminal 2E (The Moodie Report, 4 July). A number of shops at the location are directly operated by AdP, via a new partnership with retailer Aelia, called Sociéte Distribution Aéroportuaire (SDA).
“We want to be more competitive, and respond better to challenge and change,” Graff explained at the event. “We want to pay more attention to servicing our clients, and to provide our passengers with everything they want.”
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Retail has been earmarked to play a key role in this process. AdP revealed that it intends to increase the space dedicated to retail by +20% over the next five years – a strategy it hopes will pay rich dividends in terms of boosting turnover, particularly in the run-up to privatisation, slated now for 2005.
“Passengers today are very demanding – they expect a lot from airports, including a quality shopping experience,” added Graff. “In 2E, we have created beautiful and original shops, with international brands that still manage to convey a Parisian flavour thanks to the offer and the ambience. There is no place today for banal, standard products. We are trying to be more creative, to experiment more – and to provide that elusive “˜touche Parisien’ in everything we do.”
Last year 16% of AdP’s total revenue was generated by retail – a figure it hopes will increase as its expansion plans materialise. AdP executive director and chief commercial officer Alain Falque believes the company can translate a +20% increase in commercial space into at least a +40% increase in turnover.
At present, there is about 500sq m (5,380sq ft) of retail space for every million passengers at all Paris terminals, with the exception of terminal 2E, where there is 900sq m (9,684sq) per million – a ratio that AdP says is on a par with London Heathrow.
“Terminal 2E is our flagship – it embodies our retail vision,” explained Falque at the press conference. “We asked our passengers what they wanted, and as the airport serves as the main doorway to the country, they wanted to see French products. Today airport shopping is about much more than price advantage; it’s about quality, service and not least originality too.
“The right products and brands are key,” he added, “but so are the way they are merchandised. Our new shops are spacious, attractive and welcoming. It’s not just a question of transactions; travellers can sample some foie gras, or smoke a cigar. It’s about creating an experience – ‘Tout l’esprit de Paris’ as our slogan says.”
Speaking later to The Moodie Report, Falque professed himself pleased with the performance of 2E’s shops to date. “The initial results have been very promising,” he confirmed. “And that is despite the issue of traffic – obviously Iraq and SARS had an effect.” CDG 2E caters to the non-EU traffic of SkyTeam, the Air France airline alliance.
“But looking forward we are very optimistic – so much so that we have decided to install some more, last-minute shops in the terminal. They should be opened within the next couple of weeks.”
Paris aside, AdP has made no secret of its international ambitions – or its readiness for growth abroad via tender, joint-venture or acquisition. For example, early next year it will find out whether its bid to build and manage a new international airport in Albania has been successful. Germany’s Hochtief and Turkey’s Tepe Group are also in the running. AdP teamed up with Kuwait’s Al Kharafi group, which has long been present in Albania, to bid for the 20-year concession.
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