Tasty promise for BSS at new Charleroi terminal

Michael Eaton

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

Belgian Sky Shops expects confectionery and fine foods to be among the key categories in its store at the airport’s new terminal

Belgian Sky Shops (BSS) expects confectionery—especially premium chocolate—and fine food to be among the key categories in its store in the new terminal at Brussels South Charleroi airport, which opened on January 29.

According to liquor, tobacco and confectionery buyer Hans Darmont, both product sectors continued to perform exceptionally well for BSS last year. “Premium chocolate sales grew in value by 12%, with Neuhaus up by almost 21% and Corné Port-Royal by over 10%,” he told DFNIonline.com. “Fine food sales increased by a remarkable 37% compared with 2006 and we firmly believe this trend will continue. The category is gaining in importance across all our outlets and we now permanently carry about 900 skus, including a wide range of fresh products such as cheese and meat.

“We have integrated the category in self-service shops as well as in dedicated gourmet stores and both styles work equally well. The key to growth is to continuously update the offer, provide a personal service and develop a thorough understanding of what sells in an airport environment.”

The new Charleroi terminal is on the far side of the runway from the existing facility, which will now be closed to passenger traffic. It has a capacity of 5m passengers, more than double the 2.3m handled at Charleroi last year. Darmont explained: “It is scheduled to reach full capacity by 2010 and will serve 31 destinations through four scheduled operators—Ryanair, Wizzair, Jet4you and Onair.”

The new shop is opposite the food and beverage area in the transit hall and is open over its entire length, with each category featuring furniture with its own colour scheme. The confectionery and fine food categories, like other sectors, will benefit from the strategic positioning of brands on promotion in order to maximise passenger penetration, added Darmont.

Darmont shares the belief of purchasing director Marc Leemans that BSS is “a shopping paradise for chocolate aficionados” and said that premium chocolates account for more than 70% of confectionery turnover. “Our high volume guarantees that the freshest of products are on display and we invite shoppers to taste them on an almost daily basis,” he added.

BSS plans several new initiatives in support of its confectionery and fine food categories this year, including a mega display for the new Godiva Mousse Collection in its 25sq m (269sq ft) “theatre” area at Brussels International airport’s non-Schengen terminal B next month. It will then be rolled out to all nine BSS confectionery outlets.

But BSS has voiced concern about a trend that it believes was evident at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes last autumn. Darmont explained: “There are concerns about the price premium being asked for by some brand owners and recent experiences with some of these introductions [launches] confirm there is a ceiling to what consumers are prepared to fork out. This tendency towards less content and higher prices is worrying, especially as we display a price per kilo. Some travellers are shocked to discover what they are being charged.”