UAE. Abu Dhabi Airports today called on retailers and brand owners to “tear up the blue prints” and “create a “˜wow’ factor” for travellers at the new Midfield Terminal Building (MTB), which opens at 07.00 on 17 July 2017.
The company revealed detailed plans and the RFP timetable for the MTB at a pre-tender marketing launch in Abu Dhabi. There it pledged to deliver “spectacular, sensational and exceptional” experiences for passengers.
The event, facilitated by The Moodie Report Vice Chairman Dermot Davitt, was attended by around 250 leading commercial concessionaries and brand owners.
The Moodie Report Deputy Chairman Dermot Davitt moderated the day’s proceedings |
“Spectacular, sensational, exceptional”: Abu Dhabi Airports CEO Tony Douglas outlines the vision for one of the world’s most eagerly anticipated new airports (pictured below) |
The facility will offer 7,500sq m of duty free space, 10,000sq m of speciality retail and 11,000sq m of food & beverage space. The main duty free store will be a walk-through, situated in the heart of the Departures lounge, that offers full exposure to 100% of passengers.
Importantly too, Abu Dhabi Airports is pledging to offer long-term partnerships, with no contract of less than five years, and many of seven or ten years’ duration. A vital detail too is Abu Dhabi Airports’ commitment that bids will be weighted 60% on technical (qualitative) grounds, and 40% financial.
Tearing up the rule book: Abu Dhabi Airports strikingly illustrated its view that traditional travel retail dogma should be put through the shredder |
“If we get the experience right, we’re confident that we can convert more customers, resulting in considerable upside for us and for our partners,” said Vice President Commercial Gavin McKechnie. As part of that commitment, Abu Dhabi Airports said it would “share risk and reward” by considering a lower Minimum Annual Guarantee (MAG) to encourage investment in the business by its partners. “There will be room for flexibility. We will not be MAG-dependent,” he said.
In a breakthrough statement for an airport operator in terms of the long-running Trinity debate, McKechnie said: “We talk about exceptional partnerships. It’s easy to say – people have been talking about it at Trinity for the last ten or more years. Yet it’s not really moved far forward. And I think the reason it has not moved far forward is that no airport has been prepared to take that step.
“So we’re going to take one big step – and then we’ll see how many more we will take. But first we want you to join in with us at this fantastic terminal. We want you to invest heavily to get the best shop-fits, the best designs, the best concepts.
“We want you to be innovative and creative. And if you want to be all that, I can’t give you a three years plus two contract because it’s just doesn’t work.”
“We want you to be able to invest, we want to work with you to get the best concepts and the best customer experience. And that’s where we go into partnerships.”
The first RFPs will be issued in April, with a plan to have all contracts signed by this December (see timetable below).
Abu Dhabi Airports Chief Commercial Officer Mohammed Al Bulooki spoke with passion about how the new terminal will reflect the best characteristics of Abu Dhabi and the Arab world |
Chief Commercial Officer Mohammed Al Bulooki told guests: “The opportunities are there for you. We have 28,000sq m of space for shopping, food & beverage and other services. We want that offer to embrace all our passengers, to be the best that you have ever done.
“This is the chance for you to tear up any blue prints you have, to re-imagine and re-present fresh thinking and concepts. These are unique spaces. Whatever you wanted to do in the past, but were not able to, you can do here.”
Al Bulooki added: “Please do not look at this terminal as just another RFP. If you do, you will fail. If you stick by your belief that you can do the impossible, you will be the winner.”
McKechnie added: “In retail the experience is everything. We want to build a reputation, not just for an outstanding operational experience, but an outstanding retail experience as well.
“We will combine shopping, eating and drinking with relaxing, feel-good facilities: spas, juice bars, pampering services and fitness and well-being areas. We will not overwhelm the passengers with an over-shopped environment. Our passengers will be able to fully identify everything that is on offer, and engage with whatever is relevant to them.
“Every operator and brand can offer a customer experience that is sensational, in keeping with this spectacular space.”
Vice President Commercial Gavin McKechnie: “Let’s not be MAG-dependent” |
Importantly, McKechnie added that 41% of passengers will have between two and four hours of dwell time, with a further 21% having four hours or longer. Close to 80% of travellers will be transfer passengers with the balance originating and departing (O&D).
The Design Solution Director Robbie Gill, whose firm has been awarded the contract for the final retail design, layout and planning, outlined the thinking behind the retail design, noting that the plans were for a space that is “very special and highly individual” and “a world away” from the “˜cookie cutter’ approach of many other airports.
“Importantly, the distances for passengers will be minimised, even within a vast overall space. The ethos is about a warm welcome, choice, Arabic hospitality, generosity, service, responding to passengers and cultural respect.”
The Design Solution Director Robbie Gill outlined the various commercial “worlds” (pictured below) |
There will be separate “˜Worlds’ for categories such as duty free, luxury & fashion, dining, hospitality and Arabia. Within the heart of the luxury zone there will be at least four (and possibly up to six) “icon stores” located over multiple levels and featuring leading global brands.
In the same session, EchoChamber Head of Research Matthew Brown delivered an engaging presentation on the future of retail. He noted how retail is evolving fast, with consumers now expecting creative, crafted and personalised environments and offers.
“Crafted, creative and personalised”: EchoChamber Head of Research Matthew Brown on what consumers are increasingly demanding from the shopping experience |
Opening the day, Abu Dhabi Airports CEO Tony Douglas outlined how the new facility will fit into Abu Dhabi’s “˜Vision 2030′, developed by the government.
The airport will sit at the heart of a major transport system within the emirate, which will include new high-speed rail, a metro and tram system, plus a new centre for the capital city.
Douglas said: “This isnʼt just another terminal development. Itʼs a key piece within a complex integrated infrastructure that is essential to achieving our 2030 economic vision, and recognising that we are at the centre of the UAE and at the centre of global aviation.”
Abu Dhabi International will handle 64 million passengers by 2030, the company estimates, as the centre of gravity of the aviation world shifts further to the Middle East. “A conservative estimate is that Abu Dhabi International will grow passenger traffic by +9.1% a year to 2017, ahead of the global average of +5.4%,” noted Douglas.
Douglas added that the scale of Midfield Terminal, at 700,000sq m, was highly significant.
“Big size means big space,” he said. “Lots of space means we can be generous with all the facilities that enhance the airlines’ efficiency and the passengers’ experience.
“[And] the most exciting part will be the sensational experiences that you as retailers can bring to it. We want to help you do that, by being a world class business partner.”
He added: “The date, 17 July 2017, is non-negotiable and is part of our commitment to our partners.”
As the national hub carrier, Etihad’s expansion will help drive passenger traffic increases in the years ahead. Chief Strategy and Planning Officer Kevin Knight (below) outlined the airline’s ambitious growth targets. He noted that from 12 million passengers in 2013, it would carry 20 million by 2017 and 47 million by 2026 (up +292% in 13 years).
Etihad Airways Chief Strategy and Planning Officer Kevin Knight: “We don’t benchmark ourselves against other airlines, we benchmark ourselves against the best restaurants, the best resorts, the best hotels… the best that can be found” |
Preliminary RFP timetable
– RFPs for duty free and large F&B spaces – April 2014; submission deadline September
– Speciality retail RFPs – May/June 2014; submission deadline October;
– Services and smaller F&B – July 2014; submission deadline November
– Niche retail/museum and lounges – August 2014,; submission deadline November
Abu Dhabi Airports said it expected to sign contracts by December.
McKechnie said: “We are offering generous lead times, of four to five months, for proposals to be made. That will allow you to be creative and to think differently about these opportunities.”
NOTE: We’ll examine a landmark day in airport commercial tendering in this week’s edition of The Moodie Report e-Zine.
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