Aer Rianta International (ARI) has long championed the concept of Sense of Place and has partnered with The Moodie Davit Report for our successful column dedicated to the subject. These articles were first published in The Moodie Davitt e-Zine.
INTERNATIONAL. A stunning destination zone that celebrates the culture and heritage of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais at Belo Horizonte Airport; a last chance to get a taste of Greece at Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport; and a walk-through duty free store at Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport reflecting the spirit of the archipelago. Each of these areas dotted around the globe share one key concept: Sense of Place.
Creating an identity
“The strategy behind the Praça Mineira is to show what this region has to offer, what it produces, what the people are like, and what heritage, handcraft and art say about the region.”
Aeroporto Internacional de Belo Horizonte Chief Commercial Officer René Baumann neatly sums up the thinking behind a stunning destination zone that celebrates the culture and heritage of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. (A video interview on this theme, conducted by Peter Marshall of airportdynamics.tv, appears below.)
The state, which is larger than France, is the main producer of coffee and milk in the country. It is known for its architecture and colonial art in historical cities such as São João del-Rey, Congonhas, Ouro Preto, Diamantina, Tiradentes and Mariana, as well as its hydro mineral spas and national parks.
The history, natural features and cultural attributes of Minas Gerais are now set to become a lot better known to visitors. This follows the opening in October 2016 of an ambitious 3,000sq m zone (Praça Mineira, or Mineira Square) dedicated to the best of local and regional concepts, most notably in food & beverage, at Belo Horizonte Airport.
“We wanted to get away from the sameness you find at airports around the world,” says Baumann. “Sense of Place is something that should be organised by the airport itself. For me it involves a lot of investment. If you run a 100% international airport, the USP will be price and the duty free offer. But in an airport like this, with 98% domestic passengers, that’s not the case. You need something that is done more carefully.
“We do it in a three-circle approach. The first is led by convenience, the second by a circle of trusted brands. The third is Sense of Place, which offers the differentiation. And it works very well.”
Baumann has long championed the importance of local restaurant or shop concepts as a way to express the culture of a city or country, and to drive business. He previously helped introduce a strong Sense of Place to the commercial offer at Bangalore International in India.
Major outlets include Vila Francisca, a 685sq m open kitchen and restaurant dedicated to the flavours of the region. It includes a self-service buffet, an à la carte menu and a beer hall. There is also Espresso Mineiro, a bespoke concept that reflects the importance of coffee to Minas Gerais. The menu features variations from the main producing regions including Cerrado Mineiro and Matas de Minas. Others include Tudo é Passageiro, which offers popcorn, ice cream and flowers, the most popular items seen in the town squares of the province; and artisanal beers, cachaça and liqueurs are on sale at DrinkIt. Baumann confirms the importance of F&B in this zone.
“We have the Bahia kitchen – representing seafood, sun and fun – and the Praça Mineira kitchen. We have devoted 800sq m to food that is sourced in the region and cooked daily. We have around 70 suppliers, many of them family companies, so the airport is part of this region. The kitchen is fresh and the quality is high.
“In just over a year they have produced over 250 tons of food. It was important to have a fully transparent kitchen too – and it uses all fresh food items every day, cooked each morning.” Espresso Mineiro is among the vital selling points of the area.
“It was always a dream of mine to have a coffee roaster in an airport,” says Baumann, “and we’ve translated that into a concept with Espresso Mineiro, in partnership with IMC, one of our anchor concessionaires. You will find three types of special coffee from the region, which you can drink as filter, espresso or milk coffee – all prepared in front of you. There is a tasting menu which also offers an experience.”
There is much more besides, he adds. “We have chocolate producers, and makers of sweets, including Frau Bondan, which has chocolate created in a blend of European and Brazilian flavours.
“The heritage shop Arte Minas offers many handcrafts – wood, metal, textiles and copper products. At Ehven Pedras, all items are made of previous and semi-precious stone. It features art and jewellery made from local stones, which is very affordable and a great gift.
“We also take great pride in the Leve Minas store. The owner has shown great imagination here. It has many agricultural products, candied fruits, cheeses and other items, but always the very best. We do a lot of tastings there, and I like that element of event and experience. It’s not easy for a big group to run such a shop; you need local people.”
DrinkIt is another highlight. “You have a lot of cachaça in Minas Gerais, and many artisanal beer brewers,” notes Baumann. “It was important that we showed this in a world-class shop. We have an interactive map of the region, where people can discover where the product is from and who produced it, and taste it. It gathers 700 brands from big and small producers, and it’s something you seldom see. On Brazilian domestic flights can transport up to seven bottles, so that encourages sales. It also has a lovely old car outside, which is a nice feature.
“We also have a flower shop – and it’s not easy to find an airport flower shop that makes money. But this one is viable, and features a range of souvenirs, sweets and other gifts.”
The CCR–Flughafen Zürich alliance, which operates the airport, says that the Praça Mineira project is a first for Brazil on this scale, with cafés, restaurants and shops created by artisans from the state. Completed after two years of work, it has already become a talking point for people in Brazil, says the company.
The airport has developed a special Praça Mineira brand identity which covers all categories, with a flowing graphic claimed to evoke the Minas mountains. Local artists have developed a range of illustrations inspired by the region, and these exclusive designs appear on the merchandising and products.
The pride that Belo Horizonte Airport takes in this project and in its home state is clear. It also offers a signal to other emerging Brazilian airports that blending the commercial and the experiential is possible, using the best local dining and shopping concepts.
In a statement that summed up its intentions with this concept as it opened last year, the airport memorably noted: “Praça Mineira is much more than a shopping place. It is a space in our airport that shows products which are part of our culture and tradition. All of them are selected according to their origin, originality, level of quality and history. [This is] an unforgettable experience that goes through gastronomy, culture, arts and everything else Minas is proud to offer.”
Making beautiful memories
Dufry-controlled Hellenic Duty Free Shops recently celebrated the Grand Opening of its revamped retail offer in Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport’s new-look intra Schengen zone. The refurbished commercial spaces occupy 2,026sq m, an increase of +32%, distributed across 13 stores.
A walk-through duty free shop takes 1,227sq m of space. The impressive, elegant and spacious new-look shopping environment has a strong focus on Sense of Place – some 30% of the products on display are Greek. Selling Greek products was “a national duty”, especially during such difficult economic times, according to Hellenic Duty Free Shops CEO George Velentzas.
“Our customers can buy a plethora of products, but the dominant spot goes to Greek products. We’re very happy about that. This is the last stop for visitors to Greece, and their last chance to get a taste of the country.
“Our common vision with the airport – to bring something truly different to airport shopping on a global scale, while celebrating the Greek heritage of our stores – has brought us a range of stores. We hope travellers will enjoy them when they spend time here and remember them when they reach their destination.”
The beauty offer, for example, has been specially selected for the Athens Airport passenger profile, and features several new brands including Aqua di Parma, Jo Malone, Benefit, Bobbi Brown and Armani Privé. Added to this is a variety of Greek natural perfumes and cosmetics such as Korres, O Live, Creta Net and Luxurious, all created using natural herbs, honey, vanilla, figs and other indigenous Greek products.
Elsewhere, a wine-tasting machine allows travellers to taste any of 16 Greek wines, with an experienced oenologist on hand to introduce customers to Greek regions and wineries. Besides the main walk-through shop, the revamped retail zone embraces 12 further stores. These include a Zeus+Dione boutique, dedicated to the high-end Greek luxury clothing and accessories brand, and a Korres Greek natural products boutique. A ‘Cava’ section boasts the group’s new Hellenic Gourmet concept corner store, themed and designed to offer travellers a last taste of Greece in the form of traditional and contemporary foods, wines and spirits.
Hellenic Duty Free Shops says that great care has been taken to train sales assistants about the products and bring a sense of pride when sharing them with others. A kerasma treat is offered each day, giving people the opportunity to enjoy a last taste of Greece before they fly. Terkenlis, a bakery in the ‘Cava’ area, features a range of freshly baked Greek pastries and treats including tsoureki (a popular Easter sweet bread), cakes, tarts and syrup sweets. The smell of the freshly baked products invites passengers into the store, Velentzas says.
He notes that the new retail space can combine an international outlook with a local Greek spirit. “Hellenic Duty Free Shops belongs to the largest travel retail group worldwide [Dufry], and this is a blessing because we can convey the experience of the parent company being present in 67 countries. That means new systems, synergies and bigger markets.
“Our shops also promote our Greek side through the local products, which have a dominant position on our shelves. All Greek suppliers that meet the conditions are included in our family, so we are very happy that during these difficult times we are able to support and assist local societies and local economies.
“We focus on promoting local products, since they are our wealth and our ambassador abroad,” he concludes. “We strongly believe that, along with the kindness of our personnel, travellers will make beautiful memories.”
Destination Guadeloupe
Guadeloupian rum brands and local delicacies such as fine chocolate, jam and honey are to the fore in Dufry’s impressive walk-through duty free store at Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes Airport in the Caribbean.
The retailer was determined to reflect the spirit of Guadeloupe in the 800sq m store in the newly refurbished International Departures Hall (which is +60% larger than its forerunner). That same spirit is evident in two other stores opened by Dufry in May: Beach Store, a surf shop located on the ground floor of the International Terminal, and a Hudson convenience shop in T2, serving regional traffic.
The stores together offer over 300 local food and liquor products. These include Guadeloupian rum brands such as Damoiseau, Bologne, Bielle, Longueteau, Karukera and Madras, accompanied by a new tasting bar with 250 sampling days planned each year for local rums.
The duty free store offers a wide assortment of local delicacies, such as fine chocolate and confectionery goods, jam, honey and coffee, which is locally grown and produced. All these are key reflections of the eco-tourism which the island has to offer, according to Dufry, as Guadeloupe is a tourist destination famed for its beaches and nature parks.
For those who want to take home a memory of their moments in a beach restaurant or lolo, eating fresh fish accras, the store sells bottles of the islands’ renowned spicy sauce. “The in-store focus on local culture and produce is an important aspect of Dufry’s business approach, and a key part of the Dufry Pôle Caraïbes concept,” the company noted. As well as celebrating local flavour, the duty free store provides customers with Dufry’s international brand assortment, tailored to the airport’s passenger profile.
The refurbishment was carried out in partnership with CAFOM, Dufry’s local partner in Guadeloupe, and with Société Aéroportuaire Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes. Dufry has been operating in Guadeloupe for 17 years and has concluded, together with CAFOM, a further ten-year contract. This latest collaboration is the result of two years’ planning, development and implementation, the company said. “It is crucial that each store fits into the backdrop of the country in which it is located, and we would not be where we are today without our local teams,” said Dufry Division CEO for Southern Europe & Africa Pedro Castro at the walkthrough store’s inauguration in June.
“Our fantastic local partner CAFOM has been crucial in adjusting our business strategy here to fit in the Guadeloupian local context, and we are positive that the outcome of these strong partnerships will provide the foundation for our joint success over the next ten years.
“In a difficult economic context we have created 15 new job positions, and plan to keep expanding and investing in this local area throughout our partnership. I wish to thank the airport for the trust it continues to place in us. We hope that our passengers enjoy our new store as much as we do.”
