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Mallorca Duty Free: World Duty Free Group’s new location-specific retail brand arrives at Palma de Mallorca |
SPAIN. World Duty Free Group (WDFG) has officially opened its new 2,659sq m store at Palma de Mallorca Airport – its biggest Spanish walk-through store to date.
The new store, under the location-specific retail fascia Mallorca Duty Free, features a new store concept that the retailer will roll out across its network of Spanish airports, each with their own individual retail branding.
Palma de Mallorca is the fifth, and biggest, airport location to be upgraded since WDFG was awarded the retail concessions at 26 Spanish airports by AENA Aeropuertos last year. A Coruña, Asturias, Granada and Santander airports have also been upgraded and given their own retail identities.
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The retailer has invested in customer service to reduce queuing time to no more than one minute |
“Palma de Mallorca is our third biggest Spanish airport operation, behind Barcelona and Madrid,” WDFG Director of Operations in Spain Daniel Montero told The Moodie Report. “And in high season (August) it can even be the biggest sales location.
“This is an important move for us, with a new store, new retail branding and a new story.”
Mallorca Duty Free features a nautical theme inspired by the significance that sailing has for the Balearic Islands; the ceiling design represents sails, with boat hulls, piers and jetties evident in other store features.
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The new store is the first in Spain to adopt WDFG’s Contentainment multimedia concept |
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Contentainment comes to Spain
The store also features the first implementation in Spain of WDFG’s Contentainment promotional concept – combining high-visibility digital displays, dedicated staff, product sampling, merchandising and in-store audio. Montero confirmed that Contentainment will also play an important role in other major Spanish locations.
The store features around 1,000sq m of space dedicated to the beauty category. The beauty area is accessible from both entrances, with the dominant German and UK traffic – representing 25% and 31% of sales respectively – each entering the store from different sides before moving through the store to the common departures area.
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Dedicated personalised space has been devoted to the launch of Moët Ice |
Each entrance hosts a tobacco display area (a combined total of 150sq m), while the main square of the shop features the liquor (350sq m), confectionery and food (200sq m) and souvenirs (50sq m) areas – along with a central Contentainment stage of 15sq m.
Other key features include a central tasting bar and high-profile personalised spaces to support product launches.
WDFG has also invested significantly in customer service. Montero said that the bank of 22 till points, with a further two elsewhere in the store, mean that shoppers will queue for no more than one minute – even with up to 5,000 passengers per hour passing through the shop at peak times.
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The Thinking… destination concept has been tailored to Mallorca and deployed at the new store |
The retailer has also employed a further 110 shop staff – to a total of 330 – with language capabilities covering the key nationalities at Palma de Mallorca, including German, Russian and English.
The store opening was attended by Balearic Islands President José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, AENA Commercial Director José Manuel Fernández Bosch, Palma de Mallorca Airport Director José Antonio Ãlvarez Fernández, Palma de Mallorca Mayor Mateo Isern, Spanish Govenrment Delegate to Mallorca Teresa Palmer Tous and WDFG Chairman Rafael Arias-Salgado.
Arias-Salgado commented: “The refurbishment of the store in Palma de Mallorca is a key part of our strategy for growth in Spain and demonstrates our clear commitment to and long term investment in a key Spanish airport.
“We have introduced our most innovative commercial concepts into the store.”
Spanish investment continues at Barcelona and Madrid
The investment at Palma de Mallorca – €5.6 million in the new store and a further €5.9 million over the course of the concession – is part of WDFG’s €100 million investment plan across Spanish airports.
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The central liquor tasting bar, offering sampling opportunities and high-visibility promotion space, is new at Mallorca Duty Free and will be introduced across Spanish airport stores |
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Montero confirmed that the investment programme will continue with a big redevelopment to open at Barcelona El Prat Airport – covering 4,500sq m across both terminals – by the end of August, and at Madrid Barajas by the end of September.
WDFG will also redevelop airports in the Canary Islands – where it gained an additional airport, Fuerteventura, in last year’s tender. The company will redevelop stores at Las Palmas Airport by the end of November, followed by new stores at Fuerteventura.
All other airports across the Spanish estate will be redeveloped by the end of May 2014. WDFG will pen a total of 45,000sq m across the country’s airports, representing a +35% increase in its Spanish retail area.
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