Commercial masterplan on track at Oslo

Gavin Lipsith

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

Oslo Lufthavn's plan should be complete within two months following the official opening of the new Travel Retail Norway duty-free store on June 13

Oslo Gardermoen airport authority Oslo Lufthavn has revealed that the commercial masterplan formed two years ago is close to completion, following the official opening of Travel Retail Norway's extended duty-free store yesterday. Oslo Lufthavn director terminal and business development Espen Ettre told RavenFox.com that he expected the plan, which includes improvements to the duty-free, speciality retail and catering areas of the terminal, should be fulfilled within two months.

Said Ettre: "The goal was to have more space for the commercial area, and so we have removed some offices and lounges and created food and beverage concepts on the level above the departures area."

Ettre added that the plan had been essential when the airport decided to tender its duty-free business last summer. "It was important that the airport was doing its job well before we sent out the tender, so we included in the documents our vision, along with information such as the sales figures of the concessionaires. This is an important part of the process of the tender, and a useful tool for the negotiations. I hope we did a good job, and so far all the plans have been fulfilled and the masterplan will be complete in a couple of months, so we have done something right."

The expanded duty-free departures store was a key component of the plan. Travel Retail Norway partner Gebr Heinemann co-owner Gunnar Heinemann told RavenFox.com that, four weeks after the expansion was completed he was happy with the result. "It is important when you go into a duty-free shop to say, "I am at Oslo airport", even though most of the merchandise at many airports is the same. We knew that 20% of the products had to be Norwegian, so we highlighted that. It is an inviting, open shop, the lighting system is good and the position [in front of the entrance to the airside area] could not be better. Apart from that we have put a lot of effort into training, which is an continuing process, and we believe that the promotional programme is right. We are confident the store will meet the expectations of the market and that it will meet budget, not just ours but the airport's too. It is very important that we contribute to the airport's bottom line."

See DFNI June 15 for more on Travel Retail Norway, and click here for the initial story.