Airport Experience® News - Retail Innovation Issue 2024

Opposite page, Left: Earlier this year, a unique version of Ink by Hudson debuted at Gerald R. Ford International Airport that is part bookstore and part self-serve wine bar with café seating.

This summer at Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Hudson , part of Avolta , debuted a new location of its Ink by Hudson bookstore concept—but this one is singular in that it also features a self-serve wine bar with café seating. “At this unique hybrid location, travelers can browse a vast selection of books and gifts, including many by local authors and makers, while enjoying a glass of wine from a thoughtfully curated selection of local vineyards, which was created in partnership with nonprofit organization Michigan Wine Collaborative ,” says Tyler Pitman, Avolta’s senior vice president of concept development, brand partnerships and adult beverage for North America. “It’s part contemporary bookstore, part self-serve wine bar, and brings a sense of place to the airport and an experience that’s worth arriving early for.” Similarly, WH Smith North America opened Six Points Market, a travel essentials store with a Metropolis Coffee shop located within its confines, at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The two new concepts are indicative of a growing trend in airport concessions, one that combines retail with a food and beverage or services offering to maximize impact. Hybrid concepts are a relatively new trend in airport concessions, but one that many professionals feel will only become more popular in the coming years. “Recently we’ve seen more airports request that we tap into our expertise across food and beverage and retail to create hybrid concepts,” Pitman says. “But we are also proactively bringing the idea of opening hybrid concepts to the airports where we think they would bring value to the passenger experience.” Ken Buckner, director of retail concessions practice for Unison Consulting , is also seeing more airports show interest in hybrid locations. “Airports definitely understand the benefits of programming concepts that offer passengers multiple modes of engagement,” he says. “Orlando is asking for a bookstore with branded coffee

and bar concept in its current solicitation and Atlanta is asking for a newsstand with branded gourmet coffee in its current solicitation.” Alan Gluck, principal consultant for the global airports’ commercial service line

Right: Ken Buckner, director of retail concessions practice for Unison Consulting, notes that hybrid locations can provide greater return on investment for operators due to cost efficiencies.

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AX NEWS SEPTEMBER 2024