GERMANY. Munich Airport subsidiary Eurotrade has revealed a striking new retail concept and branding for its stores under the ‘My Duty Free’ name. The new identity, which leans heavily on Munich and Bavarian themes in its look and design, was introduced to travellers at the airport’s new T2 satellite, which opened last week. There, Eurotrade has three new stores in 2,600sq m of space as part of a €7.2 million investment.
The branding and concept is being gradually rolled out across the retailer’s other stores at the airport.
The Moodie Davitt Report was invited to tour the satellite stores and we bring you the first images of the new branding, stores and offer.
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New era, new branding: My Duty Free makes its debut at Munich Airport’s T2 satellite |
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Eurotrade Managing Director Sven Zahn said: “Munich is characterised by its diversity, the charm of its inhabitants, its comfortable ambience and the Bavarian style of living. It is this lifestyle and sociability that we are hoping to convey with our My Duty Free brand, and offer a shopping experience that pleasantly surprises our customers and that they automatically associate it with Munich Airport.
“There is a clear lack of individuality in the duty free business, which is why we have developed a concept that is individual to and can only function at Munich Airport, and thus has a high recognition factor.
Munich Airport Head of Commercial Activities Rainer Beeck added: “This new concept initiated by our trading subsidiary Eurotrade is an important milestone in developing the retail area at Munich Airport with a view to the future.”
The design layout of the My Duty Free stores in the new satellite reflects a number of landmarks in the city of Munich. The passenger route through the Schengen area takes them from Odeonsplatz through the Hofgarten and the fountains at the university, while in the non-Schengen area there are design cues from Maximilianstrasse and the famous Platzl street.
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The new concept aims to add “personality and emotion” to the shopping experience, says Eurotrade; many of the designs take their cues from the streets and squares of Munich itself |
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Passengers also come face to face with well-known Munich personalities in the form of bronze statues in the stores to create points of interest. The personalities depicted include Karl Valentin, Liesl Karstadt and Sigi Sommer.
The style of the layout, said Eurotrade, aims to lend an air of authenticity to the environment and offers new viewing angles with each visit.
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The accessories store on Level 5 Non-Schengen showcases designs from Munich’s famous gardens |
Traditional Bavarian elements such as a maypole or typical beer garden trestle table were chosen to display regional products throughout the stores.
Zahn said: “When we embarked on this project we asked exactly what did Munich and Bavaria stand for? The city squares and gardens resonate with visitors as well as locals and we wanted to communicate that to passengers. The design does that, so too the materials, from the gas lamps to the street signs. It also complements the local and regional designs of the food & beverage outlets with small market stands reflecting places like Munich’s Viktualienmarkt. It all helps to tell the story.”
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Bavarian specialities from drinks to delicatessen items feature in themed displays and gondolas |
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The Bavarian-themed design is complemented by a fresh emphasis on technology. Multimedia elements including video walls and digital tablets with product information are dotted through the stores.
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Technology plays a key role in the new stores, with categories such as wine benefiting from digital tablets that help educate and inform | |
The partially open, partially closed diamond-shaped ceiling holds the design together and is a striking architectural highlight of the stores.
The My Duty Free concept at the satellite terminal covers more than 2,600sq m of space at Eurotrade’s three main stores.
New additions to the offer include beauty and accessories from Victoria’s Secret as well as new ranges from Aigner and Valentino. In P&C the new-look offer features Annick Goutal, Micallef, Escentric Molecules and Bulgari’s fragrance collection ‘Les Gemme’. New watch brands include Blancpain and Glashütte Original.
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Beauty, led by fragrances, is among the mainstays of the offer at the new satellite stores |
In wines, among ten new producers entering the ranges are Penfolds from Australia, Esterhazy from Austria and Bottega from Italy, while there is also an updated selection of Japanese and Taiwanese whiskies, two new Champagne brands (Veuve Clicquot and Bollinger) and a number of Bavaria-made goods such as The Duke gin and Lion’s vodka.
For the first time travellers can make use of a digital sommelier, they can search by region or brand, or scan a bottle’s bar code to gain more information on provenance or price. Eurotrade has also begun a programme of wine tasting which it said would aid sales in the high-priced segment.
In addition, Eurotrade has introduced its own in-house travel retail exclusive label called ‘Airport Exclusive’, which aligns with the airport’s branding.
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Sunglasses feature in generous space in the accessories store, which houses an array of leading brands |
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Zahn added: “The new satellite terminal was a new start for the airport and for Eurotrade. We wanted to create branding that aligned us closely with the airport, something that was also personal and emotional and was also local and regional.
My Duty Free T2 Satellite fact file Stores: Three |
“Previously we felt that our stores were too generic. We know that duty free resonates in a way that the Travel Value branding did not. We wanted to create a point of difference, something that sets us apart from other airports. We do that through the new branding and store design – people should know where they are in the world – but also through our atmosphere and service. This development was about creating the future and is our answer to how an airport should create points of difference and deliver an experience.”
Local architect Gruschwitz led the conceptual design, planning and construction management for the My Duty Free stores, with shopfitting by Umdasch and shopfitting systems from Vitra AG.
In addition to My Duty Free Eurotrade recently introduced a new travel essentials brand under the Cee-U name, which it is also rolling out across the airport. It has also upgraded and modernised the branding for its Look watches & jewellery stores, initially in the T2 satellite.
In addition, in the T2 Non-Schengen zone it recently opened a kitchenware store, Chef’s Tools, which caters to demand (mainly among Asian visitors) for German brands such as Zwilling, WMF and Fissler.
Eurotrade manages around 70% of all retail at Munich Airport across 13,586sq m of space. The retailer is wholly owned by the airport company and generated €220 million in revenues in 2015, a slight increase on the 2014 figure of €216 million.
Gebr Heinemann is Eurotrade’s biggest supplier of duty free merchandise.
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Spirits & wines feature prominently, with a major campaign for Veuve Clicquot (below) taking centre stage in the new environment |
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*We’ll bring you more details and comment in this week’s edition of The Moodie Davitt e-Zine.
