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Specialty Retail Soars


at Airports


Specialty leasing professionals from around the country weighed in on the benefits and challenges of operating in an airport environment as well as the current state of the industry. Kristin Larson Contino


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irports have always been a popular location for specialty retail businesses, but it can still be a little intimidating for the kiosk operator looking to enter the airport market for the first time. If increased security regulations


and the vagaries of the travel industry have you hesitating to be a part of the airport specialty retail market, think again. High traffic and a captive audience can be just the perfect combination for your retail concept.


Airports vs. malls The specialty retail program at Philadelphia International Airport, operated by Marketplace Philadelphia Management, consists of 39 RMUs spread out amongst the airport’s seven concourses. “At the airport you need to consider many matters that you don’t have to consider in a mall, such as the hiring process,


Specialty Retail Report n Winter 2011


restricted merchandise, operating hours and deliveries, just to mention a few,” says Sonia Del Rosario, its specialty retail manager. “Since airports are open 365 days a year, there are no days off. It’s not like a mall where you can close on holidays. You need someone to be here every day.” Ellery Plowman, vice president of business development


and leasing for Westfield Concessions Management, which currently operates specialty retail and concessions programs at eight major U.S. airports, says that while airports were created for the purpose of moving passengers from street to aircraft in the most efficient manner possible, their potential as places to shop at, are increasingly being recognized. “As airports have begun to recognize and appreciate the value of alternative revenue streams, robust concession programs have been created,” Plowman says. Bernard Latimore, concessions supervisor at Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta International Airport, works on requests for


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