"New BWI 'mall' to generate at least $40 million"

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Company: New airport 'mall' to generate at least $40 million
By Robert J. Terry
The Baltimore (MD) Business Journal


The shift to mall-style concessions at Baltimore/Washington
International Airport will generate a local economic impact of $40
million to $50 million. 
  
That was the projection offered Tuesday morning by a top executive with
BAA plc, the airport concessionaire based in the United Kingdom whose
U.S. subsidiary recently took over a 12-year contract to manage the
restaurants and retail stores at BWI. 

Paul Weber, BAA plc's international retail director, said his company
will implement a simple formula in rolling out its newly christened
Airmall at Baltimore/Washington International Airport: Offering BWI's
fast-growing customer base a variety of choices, complemented by
excellent service and prices in line with what passengers find outside
the airport's concourses. 

"We understand airports," Weber said during a breakfast hosted by the
BWI Business Partnership. "We understand their peculiarities, their
demands, their differences. ... We can only make money if we maximize
sales for our retail partners. But the whole proposition is still
underpinned by you, the customer." 

BAA Maryland, which won the 12-year contract late last year to redevelop
140,000 square feet of space at BWI, negotiates shorter contracts with
its partners so it can keep the airport's concessionaire menu fresh,
Weber said. The company will utilize refurbishment clauses so frequent
upgrades can be implemented. 

BAA doesn't operate like a typical shopping mall management company,
Weber added, leasing space and maintaining common areas. BAA is more
"hands on." 

"We see ourselves as more as business partners than managers," he said. 

BAA plc had revenues last year of $3.6 billllion and serves 230 million
passengers annually. The company is investing $14 billion in its
airports over the next decade.


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