A centrepiece of Piazza del Gusto is an Italian champagne bar – Ferrari Spazio Bollicine (Ferrari Bubbly Space). Piazza del Gusto has a distinctly Milanese atmosphere and is a spectacular showcase for the city’s cuisine.
SEA Aeroporti di Milano is a truly fitting host of this year’s ACI EUROPE Airport Commercial & Retail Conference & Exhibition. The vibrant new commercial environment in Milan Malpensa’s Terminal 1 showcases the best of a city renowned as an icon of fashion and design. Luigi Battuello, Director Commercial, Non-Aviation, SEA Aeroporti di Milano, outlined the concept to Ross Falconer.
What immediately strikes you about the new commercial environment in Milan Malpensa’s Terminal 1 is that it exudes a strong Italian flavour. It is, in many ways, a tribute to the city of Milan itself – a global capital of fashion, design and architecture.
Luigi Battuello, Director Commercial, Non-Aviation, SEA Aeroporti di Milano: “When we undertook the project, we decided to work on a new vision. We decided to nurture the concept of the piazza, which is deeply rooted in Italian culture.”
The elegant refurbishment has been undertaken ahead of Expo Milano 2015 – the major global event taking place from 1 May to 31 October. Visitors to that event, and indeed the ACI EUROPE Airport Commercial & Retail Conference & Exhibition, will experience the results of a €30 million investment.
The overall vision for the development, which began in 2012, is to make Terminal 1 easier for passengers to use, and this has been achieved by relocating the security search area to the same level as check-in, placing it right at the centre of the terminal. Importantly from a commercial perspective, this new centralised security zone is used by both Schengen and non-Schengen travellers, meaning all passengers pass directly into the same retail area via a 2,000sqm walkthrough duty free store operated by Dufry.
SEA Aeroporti di Milano expects a 10% increase in throughput at Malpensa during Expo Milano 2015, and passengers will experience a vibrant, enhanced commercial proposition totalling 13,000sqm and 46 new stores.
The concept of the piazza
Piazza del Lusso is home to major luxury brands and is almost a destination in its own right. Alongside iconic Italian brands like Gucci is the first airport concept from Michelin-starred Milanese chef Davide Oldani.
The man directing these improvements is Luigi Battuello, Director Commercial, Non-Aviation, SEA Aeroporti di Milano. In conversation, he speaks with exuberance about the opportunities presented by this commercial redevelopment. “When we undertook the project, we decided to work on a new vision,” he told Airport Business. At the heart of this new vision are two piazzas dedicated to luxury retail and food & beverage. Piazza del Lusso (Luxury Square) opened in May 2014 and Piazza del Gusto (Taste Square) followed in December 2014. “We decided to nurture the concept of the piazza, which is deeply rooted in Italian culture,” Battuello added.
Piazza del Lusso is home to the major luxury brands and is almost a destination in its own right. The idea was to have predominantly major Italian brands, augmented by some well-known international brands. The range includes icons such as Gucci and Bulgari, as well as brands new to Malpensa, like Bottega Veneta and Tods.
The local flavour continues in Piazza del Gusto, which has a distinctly Milanese atmosphere and is a spectacular showcase for the city’s cuisine. Caffé Milano bears the official Milano Brand with its red and white livery, used courtesy of the Municipality of Milan. At the centre of Piazza del Gusto is an Italian champagne bar – Ferrari Spazio Bollicine (Ferrari Bubbly Space) – which Battuello described as “a tribute to Italian excellence in food and wine”. There is also a bakery concept called Briciole, which translates as crumbs, and the offer was further enhanced with the opening of Emozioni (Emotions) – a 500sqm delicatessen, selling a selection of domestic food and wine, operated by Dufry.
Meanwhile, Piazza del Lusso also features the first airport concept from Michelin-starred chef Davide Oldani, whose most famous dish is Risotto Milanese. The location means Davide Oldani Café is surrounded by luxury brands. Battuello relayed how he and his team visited Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food in London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and Jamie Oliver’s ‘Jamie’s Italian’ at London Gatwick, and were inspired to create their own Milanese version.
More ambitious brand propositions
What makes Piazza del Lusso and Piazza del Gusto really stand out is the new design, which is a fitting tribute to the city of Milan and reminiscent of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele – the Milanese temple of great shopping and great food. Renowned architect Gregorio Caccia Dominioni was chosen to realise SEA Aeroporti di Milano’s vision, while Studio Ferrara was selected to create a distinct ambience through special use of lighting in the new shopping area.
Battuello enthuses about the “outstanding architecture” and “innovative concepts”. “The terminal is really astonishing in terms of light, design, materials and the size of the shops,” he said. “The desire we had, planning for the next decade, was to have a more ambitious airport in terms of brand propositions.”
Battuello’s flair for retail is evident. His background includes six years spent with Weitnauer Group (now Dufry) and nine years with McArthurGlen. “So my bread and butter for 10 years was shopping centres and outlet villages,” he explained, and this experience has been expertly applied to the Terminal 1 refurbishment. “The way we have done it will make the retail area in Malpensa Terminal 1 look more like an excellent shopping centre. We used the rationale of good shopping centre development.”
Looking ahead, plans are already in place to further enhance the retail offer after Expo Milano 2015 with a ‘Pop’ (Popular) Piazza. “We are starting to plan this next retail phase, which will look very different and be a completely different proposition and offer,” Battuello commented.
The Pop Piazza will offer brands at a more accessible price-point, meaning Terminal 1 will have areas dedicated to luxury retail, mass-market retail, and food & beverage, all adjacent to one another to maximise convenience for customers.
The result of the development so far is an elegant interpretation of Milanese retail and design that is sure to inspire travellers. Importantly, after the investment of the past three years, 2015 is the year in which SEA Aeroporti di Milano expects to see a tangible benefit from this development, with a sharp increase in retail revenues at Malpensa.
Delegates at this year’s ACI EUROPE Airport Commercial & Retail Conference & Exhibition will have the opportunity to experience these vibrant new commercial areas first-hand.
