"Airport retailers hail repeal of bans"

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Airport retailers hail repeal of bans
Shops battered by recent rules prohibiting liquids, gels on planes were
forced to be creative
By Michael Manekin
MEDIANEWS


SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - When the Transportation Security
Administration revised its recent airport ban on liquids, aerosols and gels,
Rilla Ginsberg blew up a bunch of balloons, opened 18 bottles of champagne
and proceeded to invite a number of perfect strangers over for a drink.

The daylong party took place in Terminal 3 of San Francisco International
Airport, where Ginsberg owns and operates Wine Wisdom, a wine and gourmet
specialty store.

Over the past month-and-a-half, Ginsberg has seen her business plummet 85
percent.

Then, out of the blue, the TSA made a terse, two-part announcement at the
beginning of the week: First, travelers now were allowed to carry
travel-size toiletries (3 ounces or less) through security. Second,
travelers also were permitted to bring "beverages and other items purchased
in the secure boarding area onboard the aircraft."

Now, Ginsberg said, business is up 300 percent. With any luck, she added,
business will return to where it was before the ban.

"Out of bad came some good," she said. "Out of enormous negativity, you get
a gift sometimes -- which is the curve ball."

Ginsberg, a South African native, is more tenacious than most.

"I'm a dog with a dirty sneaker," she said. "I never let go."

In our new age of terrorism, airport retail businesses have been hit
especially hard. Since the TSA ban outlawed everyday items such as
toothpaste, shampoo, bottled water and, of course, bottles of wine, business
for retailers at the Bay Area's airports has been anything but routine.

While airport restaurants and bars have seen stable and even higher sales,
many specialty shops in the business of selling all things wet have been
left high and dry.

Now, those specialty shops hardest hit by the recent ban are hoping that the
new TSA revisions will turn things around.

"Nothing ever stays the same in this business," said Rocky Saunders, general
manager of Delaware North Cos., which operates seven retail outlets at
Oakland International Airport.

"If I knew what was going to happen next, I'd be a millionaire," he added.

Saunders, who has spent the past 18 years at the Oakland airport, said
success in airport retail depends on reacting properly to unstable
circumstances.

When the TSA implemented its ban in August, Saunders yanked the bottles of
wine out of store windows and replaced them with bags of candy.

Knowing that passengers were prohibited from bringing liquids aboard planes,
he stocked up on small bottles of water and provided free cups of water to
customers. Now, Saunders said, he has it pretty good: Between the company's
seven businesses -- including a couple of gift shops, a bar, a deli, a juice
bar, a fast food restaurant and a cafe -- business has actually risen 10-15
percent since the regulations hit.

"When I tell that to people, they're shocked," he said.

Saunders attributes the uptick to travelers -- be they business, tourist or
infrequent -- spending more "dwell time" in the concourse. In other words,
passengers who arrive early to check their liquids, gels and aerosols have a
lot more time to hang out.

Since the changes last week, he expects sales to rise across the board as
"dwelling" travelers have now been granted federal permission to carry
beverages aboard planes.

"We were dancing Monday night," he said, welcoming the prospect that
tourists might grab an extra bottle or two of Napa wine on their way to the
gates.

At SFO, many bars and restaurants also have generated a bit more business
since the TSA ban in August, according to airport spokesman Mike McCarron.

Nonetheless, Klein's Deli, which has two locations in Terminals 1 and 3, has
actually seen business decline a bit since August. But owner Avery McGinn
expects sales will climb in the coming weeks as more passengers realize
their privileges have been restored.

At the high-end cosmetics store Sephora, located outside SFO's international
terminal, business has improved slightly since Sept. 26, when the bans were
eased; but sales remain about 40 percent lower than prior to the August ban.

"(The ban) affected us big time. We had to be really creative to still make
business," store director Kemona Harris said, adding that the store began
promoting powdered shampoos and lipstick instead of perfume.

Beyond SFO's security checkpoints, however, business has been brisk at the
Body Shop. On Friday morning, women scrutinized body butters and body
scrubs, facial moisturizers and lip balms. All that activity was a far cry
from the past month-and-a-half, according to an employee.

Meanwhile, the duty-free shops at SFO and San Jose-Mineta seemed to have
weathered the TSA storm better than many specialty shops, as the chain
stores received variances at both airports, which allowed them to deliver
liquors, perfumes and such to travelers at the gates just before boarding.

The DFS Group, which operates the duty-free shops in both airports'
international terminals, declined to report sales numbers but claimed that
"it's business as usual," according to director of communications Sharon
Weiner.

Only, there is no such thing as business as usual at the airport, as far as
Ginsberg is concerned.

"I've been through a Gulf War, a 9/11, an Asian flu, an earthquake," she
said, pausing to think of a few more.

After 22 years, the Wine Wisdom owner has grown accustomed to the
atmosphere, and she's not afraid to share her opinions.

Although she acknowledged that the TSA has just been doing its job, she
finds its policies "myopic."

As for the issues that provoked the TSA regulations -- terrorism and fear --
they only bring her down.

"I can't make a political comment, but I can make a comment as a human
being," she said. "It's really sad how we live now.'"

 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************