Filip Soete, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur’s Chief Commerical Officer has called the renovations to Terminals 1 and 2, which will open in May 2016 and May 2017 respectively, a “quantum leap” for the airport.
Nice Côte d’Azur is an airport of many distinct and advantageous facets. Nestled in the heart of the Riviera, it is furnished with one of the most spectacular backdrops in the world, and France’s postcard-perfect Mediterranean coastline is a region full of possibility for travellers from all over Europe and beyond.
As its gateway, the airport is the first aspect of the region that the urbane and affluent voyagers to the area see and their last memory when they leave, and as such, the airport possesses the unmatched opportunity to create an extraordinary journey for its passengers, knowing that in return they will invest in the commercial experiences that it has to offer.
This is, perhaps, one of the reasons why the airport’s upcoming retail tender is so hotly anticipated. In a complete renovation of the airport’s Terminals 1 and 2, that will see more space dedicated to the airside aspects of the passenger journey, Nice Côte d’Azur is making over the entirety of its retail and F&B area, to create a commercial experience that is thoroughly in keeping with the character of the Côte d’Azur.
Work on the redevelopment of the airport has already begun – the winner of the tender for the airport’s F&B operation has already been decided upon and will be announced in December – and the interest from all of the world’s major players in the bidding for F&B has given Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur’s Chief Commercial Officer Filip Soete confidence that the level of interest in its Core Business tender for Alcohol, Tobacco and Perfume – which was launched in Cannes – will be high. His vision, Soete explained, is to create within Nice Côte d’Azur the “most surprising commercial experience in a European airport”. “We are on the Riviera, and we have the whole world passing through Nice, so for us sense of place will be very important,” he said. “We want the airport to serve as a showcase for local brands, for brands that are perhaps less known today but will be tomorrow, and for really niche brands that you don’t find in other airports. We want to be a bit different to others – because airport commercial offers are often standardised, and we want to have a more individualised offer, which links us again to the Côte d’Azur and the Riviera.”
It is very important to the airport authority that it plays a key role in the decisions made surrounding the nature of its retail experience and what is featured within its commercial areas. The retail offering, it is already known, will consist of a core offering comprising of four categories: Riviera essentials, French essentials, trendsetting essentials and airport essential items.
A ‘quantum leap’
Soete’s vision, he explained, is to create within Nice Côte d’Azur the “most surprising commercial experience in a European airport”, and the airport authority will to play a significant role in its development, working with all of the stakeholders to determine the direction that its retail offering will take.
The renovations taking place are, by a significant stretch, the most important commercial developments ever to be completed at the airport. It is also the first time at Nice Côte d’Azur that a development project has centred on the retail operations of the airport, rather than the other way around. The rejuvenated Terminal 1 is set to open in May 2016, with 11,000sqm of its area impacted by the revamp, seeing retail space grow by 160%, lounges by 70% and seating spaces by 60%. In Terminal 2 meanwhile, 23,000sqm will be updated, with 110% more commercial space, 90% more seating and lounges doubled in size, to open in May 2017.
At the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference, Soete spearheaded the airport’s travel roadshow where, to a meeting of concessionaires, brands and the press, he shared exactly what the airport is hoping to see in this, one of the most eagerly awaited European airport retail tenders in recent memory, and what he has called a “quantum leap” for the Riviera’s gateway.
“We have a lot of people coming here because they are nostalgic or dreaming of the Riviera, so we need the kind of offer with brands that are iconic for the Riviera, but also for France,” Soete said. “When people are departing from Nice the airport is the last thing they see of the French Riviera, so we want that to stay with them until the moment that they board. For them to say, ‘It was great, and even at the airport it was great because I experienced it to the last moment. And maybe next time when I come back I will come fifteen minutes earlier to the airport because of these things.’ If we can do that I think we have everything to gain.”
