Heinemann triumphant at SkyWorld Plaza

Tina Milton

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Incumbent duty-free operator Gebr Heinemann has been awarded a ten-year contract to operate the duty-free and travel-retail shops at Hamburg airport’s new SkyWorld Plaza

Gebr Heinemann has secured a ten-year contract to operate the duty-free and travel-retail space at the new SkyWorld Plaza. The contract will begin at the end of 2008, when the new shopping mall opens.

Hamburg airport commercial development manager retail, food and beverage Lutz Deubel said: “We have extended Heinemann’s contract until the end of 2008 when the ten-year contract for SkyWorld Plaza will begin. After the first five years there will be a possibility for both companies to assess the contract terms. We already have a very good relationship with Heinemann at Hamburg and they made us a very attractive offer especially for the new space at the mall. They will be involved in the retail development process – right from the design of the outlets to the shop fittings.”

Hamburg decided not to issue an open tender for the duty-free space at the new SkyWorld Plaza in March and opted to use an “invited tender” model instead. It selected between three and six companies to submit a business plan for the development. Although some European duty-free operators were known to be frontrunners, Hamburg did not disclose their identity.

SkyWorld Plaza will open in 2008 with 7,080sq m (76,180sq ft) of space, 4,450sq m (47,880sq ft) of which will be dedicated to retail and the rest to food and beverage outlets. The retail mix will include duty-free and Travel Value stores offering fashion and accessories, fragrances, newspapers and magazines, books, jewellery, souvenirs, toys and games, sportswear, confectionery and electronics.

Retail and food and beverage sales exceeded growth in passenger traffic of 14% in 2006. In 2007 passenger numbers at Hamburg are expected to grow by 2.5%. More than 10m passengers used Hamburg airport in 2005 and this figure is forecast to increase to 15m by 2015.