ATÜ Duty Free
The Wines of Georgia section at ATÜ Duty Free’s operations in Tbilisi
Serving the world
effectively means that more passengers have dollars to spend when at the airport. Although luxury is a priority, ATÜ Duty Free’s product mix reflects its ambition of providing something for every type of traveler. Just as important as which products are being sold is where they’re placed in the store. ATÜ Duty Free regularly examines shopper behavior in store and adjusts the product layout according to its findings. “The shoppers’ habits when they’re in our stores tell us a lot about things we can change,” Arcan says.
Across the airports where it operates, ATÜ Duty Free serves passengers from 130 airlines, including Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Lufthansa, United and Singapore Airlines. Furthermore, Arcan tells us that the number of passengers at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul is expected to double in the next ten years. As such, ATÜ Duty Free’s Departures operation at Atatürk is being renovated to appeal to the wide range of travelers passing through the airport. Arcan tells us that in addition to increased sales, the renovations will go a long way toward solidifying ATÜ Duty Free’s reputation as a premium travel retailer in the minds of travelers. Also coming up at Atatürk Airport is a new tender that is expected to be announced soon. And with its secure foothold in airports across the region, “ATÜ Duty Free will be one of the strongest candidates to be the sole duty free operator,” Arcan tells us.
What’s the hook?
Trending topics
As mentioned, promotions play a big role in setting up potential sales by increasing penetration. At press time, ATÜ Duty Free was running a number of promotions in the popular Beauty & Fragrance category featuring Paco Rabanne’s 1 Million and Lady Million, Dior’s La Collection Privée, Bleu de Chanel, Dolce & Gabbanna Pour Femme and Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noir. Lasting one month, the promotions feature the above range of products, but the mechanics are the same for each. Shoppers are invited to test the fragrances with trained staff on hand. Customers can earn points in store and are also given a GWP with either the purchase of a 100 mL perfume or the purchase of one smaller fragrance and another product of their choice. “Our general expectation is an increase in sales of around 40% for each promotion,” Arcan explains.
Of course, despite every effort on an operator’s part, sales depend significantly on how many travelers are passing through the airport. Fortunately for ATÜ Duty Free, in addition to its in-store efforts, passenger numbers across the airports where it operates more than back up Arcan’s assertion
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that the European economic crisis isn’t really affecting the duty free or aviation industries in ATÜ Duty Free’s stomping grounds. From January to August 2012, Atatürk Airport serviced 29,257,806 travelers, a 21% increase over the 2011 January to August figure of 24,164,003. At Esenboga Airport, the first eight months of this year saw 6,137,550 passengers, an increase of 10% year on year over last year’s 5,597,599 statistic. Numbers were also up 10% in 2012 (6,293,368 passengers) at Izmir Airport over the first eight months of 2011 (5,729,669). In terms of passenger numbers, other standout airports where ATÜ Duty Free operates include Medinah (+42% from January to August), Tunisia (+54% from January to August), Georgia (+19% from January to August) and Macedonia (+12% from January to August). Given these impressive passenger statistics, ATÜ Duty Free could have conceivably just waited for the literally millions of new travelers at the above airports to stop by its stores and purchase. To its credit, though, the operator has continued to invest in promotions, improvements and research, thereby bucking the trend gripping most European countries. “We know how to overcome crisis and we can easily convert it to an opportunity,” Arcan told us. “The aim is always to increase our sales, despite the unstable economic c conditions.”
The Old Bazaar at Atatürk Airport is in keeping with ATÜ Duty Free’s commitment to providing a range of products for all travelers types
GULF-AFRICA DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING OCTOBER 2012