Record attendance and rich content drives successful AAA Retail & Commercial Forum in Sydney : Moodie Davitt Report

AUSTRALIA. A hugely successful Australian Airports Association (AAA) Retail & Commercial Forum concluded on Wednesday in Sydney, having attracted over 370 delegates from across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.

The event serves as the leading platform for promoting the growth of retail and commercial revenues at airports and is a partnership between the AAA, The Mercurius Group and The Moodie Davitt Report.

This year’s host airport was Sydney Airport, with record partnership support and attendance among airport companies large and small, plus concessionaires and other service providers from across the market.

The event began on Monday with the second edition of the Ground Transport Forum, which carried a focus on critical revenue streams from car parking and car rental to ride share, trains and taxis.

The two-day Retail & Commercial Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday kicked off with a special ‘Trinity Breakfast’ session hosted by Heinemann Oceania, which brought together the travel retailer with partners including Sydney Airport, Coty and Penfolds.

In a conversation led by The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt, they discussed Trinity initiatives in both the beauty and wines & spirits sectors (Heinemann’s two biggest categories at Sydney Airport) and how to deepen cooperation between airports, retailers and brand owners across the industry in ways that benefit the end consumer.

The closing session of a memorable three days tabled the way forward for data-driven advertising partnerships and revenues; the discussion was led by The Mercurius Group Managing Director Ivo Favotto, left, alongside (from second left) Outdoor Media Association CEO Elizabeth McIntyre, oOh! Media Chief Commercial Officer Robbie Dery, JCDecaux Australia Chief Marketing Officer Essie Wake and Bishopp Outdoor Advertising Director of Strategy Nick McAlpine

A discussion on how to drive more value from landside property, led by Ivo Favotto, featured (from second left) Cox Architecture Director John Ferendinos, Fiji Airports General Manager Commercial Aisake Cabemaiwai, Sydney Airport Head of Retail Design & Delivery Nicole Prochilo and Newcastle Airport Executive General Manager Property Tracey Groves

The commercial potential of integrated domestic and international terminals was discussed in a compelling Wednesday session by The Mercurius Group Managing Director Ivo Favotto, ARUP Principal Airport Planner Lewis Caswell, Populous Principal & Head of Aviation Matt Findlay, Adelaide Airport Head of Retail Ilona Rose, Queensland Airports GM Commercial Revenue Isabelle Yates and Cairns Airport Head of Operations Alicia Prince (more event images to follow shortly)

The challenges for speciality retail led to lively discussion in a session led by The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt, left, alongside (from second left) LagardereAWPL CEO Costa Kouros, Wellington Airport General Manager Commercial Richard Dalby, CAVU Vice-President Growth Craig Pring and Sydney Airport Group Executive Commercial Mark Zaouk

The subject of airport food courts and their potential was aired in a session that featured (from second left) BWP Advisors Independent Property Advisor Richard Jenkins, Emirates Leisure Retail Australia General Manager, ANZ Davina Connell, Earl Canteen Co-Founder Jackie Middleton and North Queensland Airports CEO Richard Barker

Founder Jack Cowin told the inspiring story behind the Hungry Jack’s quick service brand in a huge highlight of Wednesday morning at the event. He is pictured centre with Dermot Davitt, left, and Hungry Jack’s CEO Chris Green, right.

The Forum’s plenary sessions opened with a welcome address and outlining of the high commercial ambition at Sydney Airport presented by CEO Scott Charlton.

Tuesday’s keynote addresses included insights into tourism and spending trends among leading inbound nationalities to Australia, presented by Mastercard Australia Vice President, Digital & Retail Partnerships Leah Rocheleau.

Prescient Properties Research Director David Grant then addressed what consumers really think about their experiences at Australian airports via a fascinating sentiment study.

In a hugely well received presentation and Q&A, Heathrow Retail Director Fraser Brown joined via video link on Tuesday from London to talk candidly about the challenges of space and productivity at the leading global airport.

Among the other big highlights was an interview on Wednesday with Hungry Jack’s Founder Jack Cowin, in which he (along with CEO Chris Green) discussed his company’s journey over the past 50 years, its role as a pioneer in in quick service restaurants and its continued ambitions to grow at airports. This was part of a memorable F&B-related session that featured a further wide discussion about the evolving market in airport food courts.

PICTURE GALLERY: TUESDAY 22 JULY

The Sydney Airport commercial team talked with Dermot Davitt (left) about progress, priorities and partnerships; from second left are General Manager, Retail Performance & Growth Emma de Szoeke, Group Executive Commercial Mark Zaouk, Head of Property, Stakeholder & Transformation Sonja Dodds and Head of Commercial Transport, Car Rentals & Hotels Kenn Langcake

In one of the event highlights, Heathrow Airport Retail Director Fraser Brown joined via video link on Tuesday afternoon from London to talk about space, productivity and how industry partners can raise the game on consumer engagement

The spending potential of the Indian shopper in Australian duty free was the core theme of a wide-ranging discussion by (from second left) Melbourne Airport Head of Retail Aaron Gupta, Avolta Managing Director – North Asia Jaswinder Singh, Heinemann Oceania Managing Director George Tsoukalas (who also presented key insights into emerging market nationality spend at Sydney Airport) and Puig Sales Director Travel Retail Oceania & Greater India Babita Chandra

The hotel revenue opportunity was cast into the spotlight in a panel session led by The Mercurius Group Senior Consultant Diane Owens (left) with speakers including (from second left) Horwath HTL Managing Director Ron de Wit, Accor VP Development – Pacific Brett Forer, RF Corval Senior Investment Manager Hotels Maria Verner and Brisbane Airport Head of Commercial Property Development Toby Innes

‘Colouring in the data blinds spots’ was the title of a well-received session around the power of data in transforming the airport view of commercial opportunities. Contributors to a recent data project at Sydney Airport included (from second left) Experian Managing Director Steve Philpotts, CommBank IQ Director Melissa Neumaier, Place Intelligence CEO Norion Ubechel and Sydney Airport General Manager, Retail Performance & Growth Emma de Szoeke, with Dermot Davitt (left) leading the conversation

Mastercard Australia Vice President, Digital & Retail Partnerships Leah Rocheleau took guests on a deep dive of overseas visitor spending trends in the market, while (below) Prescient Properties Research Director David Grant asked what factors most influence consumers to spend at the airport?

Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton outlined the latest growth ambitions for the largest gateway to Australia in his welcome to delegates on Tuesday; over 370 delegates registered for the event, now in its fourth year

Deepening travel retail partnerships was the theme for a special invitation-only Trinity Breakfast session in association with Heinemann Oceania on Tuesday morning, led by The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt (left). Panellists included (from second left) Penfolds Global Director, Global Travel Michael Jackson, Coty Senior Key Account Manager Australia New Zealand Pacific, French Islands & Asia InFlight Tara Howell, Sydney Airport General Manager – Retail Performance & Growth Emma de Szoeke and Heinemann Oceania Managing Director George Tsoukalas.

Other topics covered included duty free spend intentions among Indian travellers in Australia/New Zealand, with some superb insights from Heinemann Oceania, Avolta, Melbourne Airport and Puig, while ‘Colouring in the data blinds spots’ was the title of an excellent session around data sharing and insights-to-action initiatives featuring Sydney Airport plus partners Place Intelligence, CommBank IQ and Experian.

Sydney Airport updated delegates on the latest commercial plans, performance and outlook across various sectors from retail to parking to property.

Via a series of white papers prepared by The Mercurius Group and partners, themes such as airport hotels, integrated terminals, landside commercial master planning and retail fitout costs were cast into the spotlight, as was the potential for smaller airports commercial incomes via a benchmarking project.

Other vital sessions featured a lively discussion of the way forward for speciality retail, plus how the airport advertising market can add value through new metrics, presented by the Outdoor Media Association, complemented by insights from key advertising players Bishopp, JCDecaux and oOh!Media.

PICTURE GALLERY: MONDAY 21 JULY

**A superb Welcome Reception was hosted by CAVU on Monday evening; pictured are CAVU Vice President Growth APAC Josh Bahkbahki and Vice-President Growth Craig Pring**

The world of electric vehicle charging was the theme of the Ground Transport Forum on Monday, with Evie Networks Chief Strategy Officer Paul Fox as keynote speaker. Below, the valet parking incremental opportunity at airports was the subject of a panel featuring (from second left) Auckland Airport Commercial Parking Manager Steven Li, Brisbane Airport Head of Parking and Transport, Commercial Parking and Transport Paul Laws, CAVU Vice President Growth – APAC Josh Bahkbahki and First Class Valet Founder and Managing Director Robert Horton, with The Mercurius Group Managing Director Ivo Favotto (left) asking the questions

Telecommunications service provider Telsim played magnificent host to delegates onboard a memorable tour of Sydney Harbour on Sunday night before the main event began. Below, from left, co-organisers The Mercurius Group Managing Director Ivo Favotto, AAA CEO Simon Westaway and The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt (right) with Telsim Managing Director Australia/New Zealand Anosh Sebastian (second right) with the Sydney Opera House (and further down the Harbour Bridge) as backdrop.

The event was co-moderated by The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt, The Mercurius Group Managing Director Ivo Favotto and The Mercurius Group Senior Consultant Diane Owens.

The conference was complemented by a superb extra-curricular programme that included a Sydney Harbour cruise, a ground transport tour of Sydney Airport, a Welcome Cocktail, the Gala Dinner & Awards plus After Party and a retail tour of Sydney Airport Terminal 1. ✈

PICTURE GALLERY: TUESDAY 22 JULY

PICTURE GALLERY: MONDAY 21 JULY

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