Fort Lauderdale airport to transform retail offer

Emily Pacey

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HMSHost and The Paradies Shops to bid in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport tender

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport has requested bids for 25 travel-retail shops. All but one concession are being tendered, and the airport is also planning several new outlets, including bookstores and other stand-alone speciality shops.

The airport plans to revamp its existing news and gift stores, which make up most of its retail offer and have been managed by The Paradies Shops since 1984.

Broward County aviation director Tom Jargiello said: "The public is now at the point where it is attracted by variety, brand names and high street pricing, and we are now catching up with those aspects of modern retailing at Fort Lauderdale."

The airport estimated that once it has completed renovations, about 60% of stores will be located before security. However, the airport said that if space permits it would eventually like to position 80-90% of the stores post-security.

The new stores will be created from space now used for staff rooms, storage rooms and other administration areas.

Retailers submitted notices of interest in July. Bidders include Paradies Shops and HMSHost, which intends to bid for 13 stores. Successful bidders will have to pay a minimum annual guarantee of $3.23m, or a percentage of sales in their first year of trading. New stores will open at the end of 2007 and news and gifts contracts will last until 2013.

Passenger traffic at the airport has almost quadrupled from 6.4m passengers in 1984 to 22.4m in 2005.