Cincinnati extends retail leases by two years

Tina Milton

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Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport has extended its lease agreements with all retailers by two years and will waive MAGs payments for 2007.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport is to extend all retail leases by two years and will continue to waive minimum annual guarantee (MAG) payments through 2007, although retailers will still be required to pay a percentage of sales.

Airport retail manager commercial and business development David Kellerman told Ravenfox.com: “We wanted to continue to support our concessionaires who were hit badly by the slump caused by Delta Air Lines’ route cutbacks. Although retailers will still have to pay us a percentage of sales the lease extension will give them some respite with two extra years with no build out costs.”

HMSHost runs the duty-free and duty-paid retail at the airport and its contract, which was due to expire in December 31 2009, will now continue until December 31 2011.

Kellerman revealed retail sales have continued to “stabilise” since the beginning of the Delta slump in 2006. Sales were down by 25% between January and November 2006 but the loss was stemmed to 4% during December.

The airport opened five new stores on concourse C in May as part of an expansion plan agreed in 2005. The area features a CNBC news store, Borders bookshop, Brooks Brothers clothing outlet, toyshop by Kids Works and a Vera Bradley handbags and luggage store.