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“Today marks a historic occasion for The Nuance Group and its airport partners at Geneva and Zürich airports“ |
Andrea Belardini CEO The Nuance Group Europe |
SWITZERLAND. The Nuance Group today unveiled the first arrival Duty Free shops in Switzerland, with the opening of new stores at Geneva and Zürich airports.
The openings follow the recent change in Swiss legislation, allowing the country’s international airports and airport retailers to extend the duty free shopping experience to arriving travellers.
“Today marks a historic occasion for The Nuance Group and its airport partners at Geneva and Zürich airports,” said The Nuance Group CEO Europe Andrea Belardini.
“These openings signify the successful outcome of our combined efforts over the past 12 years to extend duty free shopping to travellers flying into and residents returning to Switzerland. In achieving this milestone, we are now able to respond to consumer demand for a more convenient shopping experience by offering a choice of retail opportunities at every step of their journey.”
Over the past year, Nuance said it has set out to redefine its offering, putting the customer at “the very heart of the shopping experience”, identifying and developing key areas throughout the retail journey.
Research conducted by the retailer showed convenience is a key factor, especially when looking at Arrivals shopping. “The introduction of Arrivals duty free extends the service provided to travellers as it allows them to buy without carrying onboard, making this an increasingly popular and essential retail opportunity,” said Nuance.
Both of the new Arrivals duty free shops offer a wide selection of products across liquor, tobacco, perfume and cosmetics, featuring a selection of the company’s new key category “˜Boutique’ concepts, such as whisky, which were unveiled unveiled in Antalya last month (pictured below).
Products are also clearly segmented to help customers identify key “˜hero categories’, as well as best sellers, new items, special promotions and gifting ideas.
Later this summer Nuance will develop its Arrivals offering further, introducing a “˜collect on return’ service at both Geneva and Zürich airports whereby travellers can select products either upon departure at the airport or by ordering online beforehand, ready to pick up upon their arrival into Switzerland.
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The Nuance group is offering a full range of core category products at the new Zürich Airport Arrivals Terminal 2 |
The debut of these new Arrivals Stores is just one of several key initiatives being rolled out across Nuance’s European business in 2010. Last month Nuance launched a new European duty free store concept at Antalya Airport, unveiling a series of new “˜Boutiques’ for each core category, harnessing the latest iPad-style tablets to engage customers whilst shopping. Later this year, the company will introduce new state-of-the-art walk-through concepts for Nuance’s existing tax free stores at Zürich Airport, as well as a new walk-through store at Lisbon.
This latest development also reflects Nuance’s commitment to developing and reinvigorating its European business and providing a superior retail experience for its customers, the company claimed. This year the company plans to invest around CHF20 million (US$23.6 million) in its European operations, refurbishing or developing more than 7,500sq m of retail space across its portfolio, with a significant focus on its Swiss operations.
“With more than 35 million passengers estimated to come through both of these key international gateways this year, there is a clear opportunity to further grow our business in Switzerland through the range of initiatives we have planned in this market in 2011,” said Belardini.
“In addition to these new stores, we also open a second walk-through Zürich Arrivals store this summer, so we are even better equipped to meet the needs and demands of the significant numbers of arriving travellers and returning residents using these airports in the months and years to come.
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Future template: Categories such as Cognac are presented in individual ‘Boutiques’ at Antalya Airport |
Nuance has enjoyed a long-standing presence in Switzerland, having commenced retail operations at Zürich Airport 50 years ago. As the company’s largest European retail operation, it now operates 49 airport shops spread across almost 4,500sq m of retail space in this market. The opening of the two new stores has led to the creation of more than 50 jobs by the company, which already employs over 550 people in Switzerland across its airport operations and corporate head office, which is based near Zürich Airport.
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