Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2024

Next, Melissa K. Montes, vice president and publisher of Airport Experience News, chatted with Christian Charnaux, chief growth officer for Inspire Brands , session room sponsor and owner of Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John’s, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins chains. Montes asked Charnaux to offer a snapshot of the company. “In the six years since our founding, we’ve been pretty busy,” Charnaux said. “You may not have heard of Inspire but we’re now the second largest restaurant operator in the U.S. We’ve got 32,000 locations in close to 60 countries, 10,000 are outside the U.S.” He added that Inspire is focused on building a consolidated platform that will enable its brands to share investments and consumer data insights and ultimately perform better together. Montes also asked Charnaux what trends he thinks airport executives should continue thinking about. In his response Charnaux highlighted four main points: the continued relevance of brand loyalty among consumers; the emergence of digital platforms for leveraging data; the importance of excellent customer service; and the need to foster effective relationships with partners and stakeholders. Founder’s Spotlight: Pauline Armbrust In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Airport Experience Conference, Airport Experience News and Conference Founder Pauline Armbrust joined AXN’s Melissa K. Montes for a discussion on industry evolution and the opportunities that lie ahead. Montes began by asking Armbrust what inspired her to start the business, which began as a newsletter. Armbrust recalled that during her years as a journalist in niche industries, she realized how beneficial it would be to have access to more in-depth information than what was typically covered in the general media. When she saw a news segment on how European airports were getting more revenue from their retail shops than other sources, she was inspired to look into what U.S. airports were doing.

Above, Right: Airport Experience Conference, Airport Experience News and Conference Founder Pauline Armbrust joined AXN’s Melissa K. Montes for a discussion on industry evolution and the opportunities that lie ahead.

“This was in the mid-90s and there are a handful of airports that were doing a really good job at bringing in local concepts, so I just felt that the industry at the time was really awesome and that it was a great time to launch this kind of newsletter,” she said. “And obviously it was a good time because I went out with the first promotion piece and the fax machine started ringing off the hook and I started getting a lot of orders in. That inspired me to continue pushing forward with it.” The newsletter then evolved to become Airport Revenue News Magazine, which launched on September 11, 2001. Montes asked Armbrust what it was like to lead a business through such a difficult time. “When that tragedy struck, it was devastating to everybody, and as a news organization, we thought, ‘how can we serve the industry at a time like this?’” Armbrust recalled. “For us it was about providing information and providing it frequently—we were a monthly magazine but we knew that everybody desperately needed information about what was happening at other airports and how airports were handling this drop in passenger traffic, so we launched the daily briefings. That really boosted our credibility in the industry.”

Montes then asked Armbrust to share her thoughts on how the concessions industry has evolved over the years and what has surprised her most. Armbrust noted that concessionaires today do a fantastic job of really understanding who their customer is and offering high quality, on-trend concepts. “I think that local mix concepts are much deeper and much stronger today, which is a brilliant way for every airport to showcase their local community,” she added. “But I think surprisingly, some of the issues I was covering 25 years ago are still there. Some airports are still charging rents and imposing conditions that aren’t sustainable, and some concessionaires are bidding high numbers that aren’t necessarily profitable. I think creating really strong partnerships between airports and business operators that are geared for mutual success will help this industry evolve in a much more positive way.” Finally, Montes asked what Armbrust is up to now. Armbrust is back in the publishing world with an online magazine called CityRevive. “It’s all about cities that are thriving based on the success of their small businesses,” she said. “I’m excited to roll that out in the next couple months and see it succeed as ARN did.”

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2024