DENMARK. Gebr Heinemann and Copenhagen Airport showcased the retailer’s Tax Free Shop last week, with a guided tour of the facility for business partners and a terrific party that went on well into the night at the airport’s stunning Lauritzen Terminal.
The 2,500sq m walk-through store opened for business on 1 June. On Wednesday last week the retailer offered suppliers and trade media the chance to tour the store with its senior management team.
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(Left) Gunnar Heinemann welcomes the trade with Copenhagen Airports Vice President Commercial Affairs Henrik Busch; (right) Airport Specials is one of the landmarks that guides passengers around the store | |
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The 2,500sq m store opened in June; around 150 suppliers and media toured the new walk-through facility last week | |
Some of the key features of the store are a Heart of Scandinavia area that includes the best local products, Airport Specials that showcases new and exclusive items, The Beauty Lounge housing beauty products and treatments, plus strongly branded areas for fragrances and cosmetics (50% of the business), liquor, tobacco confectionery and fashion & accessories.
Welcoming guests to the evening party, Gebr Heinemann Co-owner Gunnar Heinemann said: “I’d like to thank [Copenhagen Airport Vice President Commercial Affairs] Henrik Busch who made us feel at home from day one, and who has supported us so strongly. There is great cooperation between landlord and retailer here, something that looks like a Scandinavian speciality to us, given our great relations with our Oslo Airport landlord.”
He added: “When our company’s founder was born in 1858, he came into the world in Schleswig, which was at the time part of Denmark. Some 31 years later he founded Gebr Heinemann in Hamburg. It’s taken us a long time to return, but we’re back now.”
Heinemann noted the crucial role of national and international brand owners in keeping the offer fresh. “One of the lessons we have learned is that non-shoppers are often bored by the airport offer. It was Kierkegaard who said that boredom was the root of evil. I wonder if he was thinking of the duty free shop experience! Our message is this: let’s fight against boredom and focus more strongly on the consumer than ever before. Let’s shoot for the moon, but even if we miss, we’ll hit the stars.”
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Pride in partnership: Claus (left) and Gunnar Heinemann (right) with Copenhagen Airports CEO Brian Petersen; (right) Wheel of fortune: an acrobat proves one of the starring acts of a terrific evening’s entertainment | |
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Cool celebration: an ice sculpture (left) with the Gebr Heinemann logo proved a feature of the evening event; (right) Danish Eurovision winners The Olsen Brothers got the party into full swing | |
Heinemann’s remarks were followed up by Copenhagen Airport’s new CEO Brian Petersen. He said of the company’s choice of Gebr Heinemann as its new duty free retailer: “To change from a company that we had worked with for 10 years was a big step, but the choice for the people who made the decision [taken before Petersen joined the company on 1 July this year] was an easy one. Copenhagen Airport could see the ideas, the professionalism and the logistical expertise of Gebr Heinemann and how it had delivered at many other airports.
“In the months since I joined the company I’ve had some strong impressions of Gebr Heinemann at first hand when I visited Hamburg. I saw a strong family spirit, and I saw people dedicated to doing the right thing. Copenhagen Airport is also a family to so many of its people, and we, like Heinemann, have people who have worked here for decades. So tonight we bring together two families – Gebr Heinemann and Copenhagen Airport – for what I hope will be a long and happy marriage. I understand that Gebr Heinemann has never lost an airport concession and we hope that Copenhagen Airport won’t be the first! We look forward to creating the most consumer focused shopping experience anywhere.”
Guests at the party were treated to a meal of Danish specialities, fine wine and a performance from Denmark’s former Eurovision song contest winners The Olsen Brothers.
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