"Shopping on the fly"

Thursday, February 13, 2003

Shopping on the fly 
Upgrade, new tenants keep airport's retailers competitive 
By Jon Newberry 
The Cincinnati (OH) Post


A $25 million retail development program at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
International Airport is meant to maintain the airport's status as one of
the best places around to shop. 

A half-dozen stores are either new or renovated, part of more than 70 new or
renovated shops set to debut this year. 
 
The airport says Sky Shops at CVG is one of the most comprehensive
concession developments at any U.S. airport. Apparently the merchants that
are filling those spaces as tenants agree with that assessment. 

In an annual poll of airport merchants by Airport Revenue News, an industry
trade publication, the concessions management team topped the ranks of all
medium-size airports. The judging was done by a panel of concessionaires
familiar with airports across the country. 

"We really work hard to help them (tenants) improve their businesses and
keep their customers happy," said Michael Mullaney, the airport's manager of
commercial and business development. "Satisfied customers tend to spend more
money." 

Mullaney said that the quality of some of its new tenants, and their desire
to invest at the airport rather than in malls, shows that the airport is on
the right track. Shop and restaurant operators are attracted to the airport
by its more than 20 million airline passengers every year, he said. As a
group those passengers are educated and affluent with high levels of
discretionary disposable income. The demographics are "better than just
about any mall." 

For specialty retailers, one attraction of an airport location is a
predictable volume of business that's spread throughout the year. There
isn't pressure on one month between Thanksgiving and Christmas that can make
or break a year, Mullaney said. 

Airport shops also tend to sell a lot more per square foot than mall stores,
yet the rent per square foot at the airport is comparable with high-end
venues such as Kenwood Towne Center, Mullaney said. The Borders bookstore at
the airport sells three or four times as much, per square foot, as its
much-larger stores elsewhere, he said. 

When all of the tenant leases at the airport expired in 2001, the airport
was selective in signing new ones. By the time the renovation program is
completed, about 95 percent of the retail space will be new or renovated.
Both the total retail area and the number of tenants have been expanded. 

New tenants opening this year include restaurants such as Damon's, Max &
Erma's, and two new Starbuck's Coffee shops; and specialty retailers such as
Brookstone, Creative Kidstuff, Brooks Brothers, and a PGA Tour Shop. Shops
will open throughout the year. 

The Sky Shops at CVG plan covers space in Terminals 1 and 2, most of which
is accessible to visitors who do not have tickets, as well as space in
Delta's terminal, most of which is most restricted to ticketed passengers
for security reasons. 

As things have turned out, the airport's anti-terrorism measures have had a
minimal impact on concessionaires, and much of that has been positive,
Mullaney said. The majority of the airport's passengers are on connecting
flights; only about 30 percent begin or end their travel here. Keeping
people without tickets out of the boarding areas cuts down on "meeters and
greeters," Mullaney said, but they typically didn't spend much money at the
airport anyway. 

On the plus side, because of increased security screenings, passengers are
now arriving earlier and tend to have more free time at the airport before
they depart. That gives them more opportunities to shop. 

Also, since airlines ae cutting back on food on most flights, airport
restaurants are busier. People can either eat it at the airport or take it
on their flights.

 The list

 The roster of stores at the airport reads like an upscale shopping mall.
Some new shops that have opened or are coming include:

.  Borders Books 
.  Brookstone 
.  Brooks Brothers 
.  Creative Kidstuff 
.  Damon's Grille 
.  Erwin Pearl 
.  Johnston & Murphy 
.  Max & Erma's 
.  PGA Tour Shop 
.  Starbucks 
.  Wetzel's Pretzels 
.  Wolfgang Puck 


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