An interview with Florian Kruse, Chief Commercial Officer, Bremen Airport. By Ross Falconer
Bremen Airport describes itself as the heartbeat of Germany’s north west. It welcomed 2.56 million passengers in 2018, with 13 airlines serving over 30 destinations in many countries.
Commercial & retail revenues are an important and growing part of the airport’s overall revenues. “This applies even more, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to generate revenue growth in an airline market which is in constant flux,” says Florian Kruse, Chief Commercial Officer, Bremen Airport. “At present, we are push-starting four new products in the food & beverage department, so we are hoping that the revenue in retail will increase slightly in 2019. One of these is Dean & David in the public part of the terminal, which is run by SSP. As well as this, we have the Turkish TAV who will take over our airport’s own lounge. And the BTA Food & Service Group, who also belong to TAV, will bring their food & beverage concept from Turkey to Germany for the first time with Cakes & Bakes.”
Florian Kruse, Chief Commercial Officer, Bremen Airport: “At present, we are push-starting four new products in the food & beverage department, so we are hoping that the revenue in retail will increase slightly in 2019.”
In identifying the ideal commercial & retail mix, Bremen Airport’s focus is on a combination of local providers and large international players such as McDonald’s, SSP, TAV, BTA Food Service Group, and Lagardère. “At the moment, it is important for us that no two places in Bremen Airport offer the same things,” Kruse explains. “In addition, here in Bremen, we have the special feature of the Martinshofshop – a local organisation which supports disabled people and offers them work-places in the ‘normal’ employment market, which has a small shop with regional and typical Bremen products in the public area of the terminal. This is always very popular among our guests.”
Digital innovation is central to the airport’s commercial & retail strategy. In 2017, Bremen Airport chose to integrate with FLIO, instead of developing its own standalone app. It became the first airport to make all of its services available via the FLIO app, with the ability to book parking, fast lane security and lounge access, receive discounts at airport stores and restaurants, and get live flight information.
“In addition, Bremen Airport will offer online products related to Rezcomm in the future,” says Kruse. “Rezcomm is a British company, which specialises in parking e-commerce, CRM and travel systems.”
Over the last year, the airport ran a project with Airmagine, a Copenhagen-based company specialising in digital marketing. The project involved generating targeted marketing connected with promotions in the shops, enabling analysis of customer behaviour both for the airport and the concessionaires.
“This was very exciting as we were able to prove that the connection of digital marketing, promotions and special offers in shops actually works. In the end, airports and their retailers must always be on the pulse when it comes to the consumer market, so that they can react to the variety-seeking behaviour of passengers, and in this way, present themselves in a new and targeted way to react to changing customer needs,” Kruse concludes.
Over the last year, Bremen Airport ran a project with Airmagine, a Copenhagen-based company specialising in digital marketing. The project involved generating targeted marketing connected with promotions in the shops, enabling analysis of customer behaviour both for the airport and the concessionaires.
