Iconic British brand John Lewis is opening its first airport store in Heathrow’s new Terminal 2, as an exciting step forward in the development of its international strategy.
Max Vialou-Clark, Retail Director, Heathrow Airport: “The bar is getting higher and higher in terms of passenger expectations, so we have to keep innovating to stay ahead. An important part of my job is making sure we have the right value proposition mixed with the right experiential proposition.”
Max Vialou-Clark’s background is not in airports, or indeed aviation in general. However, he brings a wealth of very relevant experience, broadly focused on product sales and marketing, and operating at the consumer-facing, front-end of the business. In short, he spent three years in with supermarket chain Aldi, then nine years in the snack division of PepsiCo UK, before taking an MBA at Cranfield University. A five-year stint in banking with HBOS was then followed by three years back in supermakets with Sainsbury’s. He arrived at Heathrow in 2011 as Retail Services Director, in which his patch was essentially non-retail commercial income (car parking, advertising etc).
In addition to all of the retail outlets, Vialou-Clark’s responsibilities in his new role as Retail Director include the food & beverage, bureaux de change, and the media estate.
After just a few minutes in his company, Vialou-Clark’s passion for delivering a great customer experience shines through. He enthuses about the importance of the “right product and range,” and above all about creating an “experience”.
Heathrow has long been considered as a centre of commercial excellence. When Terminal 5 opened in 2008, its luxurious retail offer was lauded. When the new Terminal 2 opens on 4 June, it promises to be equally impressive, but with a different retail emphasis that is very much centred on the ‘Best of British’.
“Terminal 2 is obviously high on the list of priorities,” explained Vialou-Clark. “The bar is getting higher and higher in terms of passenger expectations, so we have to keep innovating to stay ahead. An important part of my job is making sure we have the right value proposition mixed with the right experiential proposition.”
Vialou-Clark speaks eloquently about the need for the retail offer to appeal, excite and tantalise passengers, while at the same time recognising that they are at the airport to catch a flight, not to go shopping, “but they like to do their shopping on the way”.
When passengers go through security and enter Terminal 2’s retail, Vialou-Clark wants them to think “wow”. “I’d like them to experience something that’s an exciting, aspirational, interesting, British collection of brands,” he commented. “I’d also like passengers to find the terminal easy to navigate and equally easy to understand in terms of the offer available to them.”
The desire for Terminal 2 to have an international flavour combined with a real sense of place is borne out in the fact that 60% of its retail brands will be British (in Terminal 5 it’s 25%). Terminal 2 features a number of firsts, among them the first airport John Lewis store, and Heston Blumenthal’s first airport restaurant. “Cast your mind back to the 2012 London Olympics, they really made a statement about the UK, and Heathrow should do the same,” enthused Vialou-Clark. “In Terminal 2 we’ve got a whole number of British brands, such as Ted Baker, Mulberry and Burberry, that really make a statement about the UK, as well as having the full product mix and range that you’d expect from an international hub like Heathrow.”
Among the experiential elements in Terminal 2, travellers will be able to watch ice cream being made out of liquid nitrogen in Heston’s restaurant – The Perfectionists’ Café, while Smythson will be offering a personalised gold embossing service for its small luxury gift items. “These are very good examples of the experiential offer – some are very British, and some are just part of a good passenger experience, but it’s increasingly important,” said Vialou-Clark.
Moving forward, there are also plans to enhance the luxury retail offer in Terminal 5 over the next 12 months, with a reinvention across all product categories.
As our conversation draws to a close, it is evident that Vialou-Clark has a clear understanding of what the customer – the passenger – wants, and a determination to get both the product and the experiential proposition right.
