May/June 2005 AIRPORT RETAIL PROMOTION Bahrain Duty Free & AIRSIDE TRACKSIDE at Bahrain Duty Free By Martin Moodie Bahrain Duty Free has long been synonymous with innovation, investment and imagination. Last year, to celebrate the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix, the retailer launched a Frontier Award-winning shopping promotion called Race 2 Win. This year it did it again only bigger and better. Was it still on track? Could it repeat a winning formula? Martin Moodie did a few circuits of the store to judge for himself, before taking in the big race itself. 2 APRIL 2005 It s Saturday, qualifying day at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Thousands of visitors from around the world are pouring into the Kingdom of Bahrain, drawn by the perennial allure and excitement of Formula One motor car racing. As they arrive at Bahrain International Airport they could be forgiven for thinking they had already arrived trackside. From the moment the passengers set foot in the terminal, the whole place is humming with the buzz, colours and personalities of this illustrious sporting event. F1 fever has broken out, and nowhere is the temperature hotter than at Bahrain Duty Free. Last year, to coincide with the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix, the retailer introduced the acclaimed Race 2 Win promotional campaign, subsequently named Best Marketing Campaign by a Retailer at the Frontier Awards in October. This year s campaign is bigger and, the retailer hopes, better. It s certainly one of the most ambitious airport-wide events this writer has seen. Bahrain Duty Free has been running an intensive airport-wide retail shopping promotion for several weeks, building up to and ultimately celebrating this unique Middle East sporting occasion. Equally importantly, it has been doing its utmost to leverage the event to build penetration, average sales and overall revenue. Each retail area arrivals, departures and a dedicated transit area set aside to handle additional F1-related The Moodie Report 87
AIRPORT RETAIL PROMOTION Bahrain Duty Free May/June 2005 national airline (and Grand Prix sponsor) Gulf Air. We ve tried to achieve a complete transformation of the airport, enthuses Carty. The Grand Prix promotion is absolutely everywhere, from departures to arrivals to the temporary area. flights is themed heavily to the event. Several suppliers, ranging from fashion house Hugo Boss to Omega to BAT to Nestlé International Travel Retail, have developed tailored promotions linked to the big race. The impact is stunning. Walking the airport is to encounter a riot of the senses and a heady mix of colours dominated, of course by Ferrari red. As Bahrain Duty Free Head of Retail Eamonn Carty says, Ferrari will sell 365 days of the year. Carty, who joined Aer Rianta International-Middle East 14 months ago, is a vastly-experienced retailer, having specialised in the hypermarket business for years. But he confesses particular excitement about the challenges of gearing up an airport shopping environment to such a themed promotion. The shopping offer combines branded and generic F1 merchandise and specific promotions by the leading brands, as well as the store-wide Race 2 Win campaign which offers some great prizes, including first-class air tickets with But the real highlight is the departures store. Anyone familiar with Bahrain International Airport will understand how well the lovely curved sweep of the shopping complex lends itself to the concept of a race track. But just to drive the message home Bahrain Duty Free has put realistic-looking skid marks on the walkways and there s even a starting grid at both ends of the shopping area. Passengers pass under a giant banner which says Race 2 Win To win the race start shopping here. To encourage them to shop, 32 local Bahraini staff (Bahrain Duty Free has a commendable 63% local employee rate) have become pit crew, as Carty describes them. Dressed in Ferrari red overalls they look the part, lending a sense of theatre, helping to draw passengers into the promotional areas and being on hand to answer questions. Dedicated sporting event merchandise is a tricky area to get right, Carty says, and judging demand is difficult. This year s offer is mainly related to Ferrari and BMW, reflecting traditional demand, though the retailer will monitor this season s team performances before deciding on next year s offer. We ve had tremendous support from our suppliers, (Left) We've tried to achieve a complete transformation of the airport. The Grand Prix promotion is absolutely everywhere, says Head of Retail Eamonn Carty, pictured below right with one of the pit crew ; (Right) Kimi Raikkonen shows the other drivers who s Boss 88 The Moodie Report
May/June 2005 AIRPORT RETAIL PROMOTION Bahrain Duty Free All the drama of the Grand Prix, at the start line (left) on the dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix circuit with its magnificent architecture Carty says, pointing to a high-profile racing car promotion mounted by BAT-owned Lucky Strike. There in the tobacco area a steady stream of passengers gathers, many having their pictures taken alongside the vehicle. The excitement is nicely captured as an Arab woman in a headscarf proudly poses alongside the car with her young child sitting in the driver s seat. It s a symbolic meeting of worlds make no mistake about it, F1 has arrived in the Middle East. ONE MONTH LATER No-one can challenge the brilliance of Bahrain Duty Free s promotional execution around the Grand Prix. But how did it pan out in spending terms? Carty says this year s spending pattern was markedly different to that of 2004. It was the total opposite of last year, he says. 2004 was the first Grand Prix so it was a learning curve for all concerned. Last year on the evening after the race [Sunday] it was busy but the main trading was on the Monday. This year the Sunday of the race was our busiest trading day so basically less people spent extended time in Bahrain. Last year we found that on the Tuesday through Friday after the race a lot of people stayed on in Bahrain. This year they didn t, so the actual trading week was slower. Visitors generally came for shorter periods, with many staying in nearby Dubai and flying in and out of Bahrain on the race day. For Thursday to Sunday the passenger increase was +5%, but our actual sales increase was higher than that, says Carty. We had anticipated that Sunday would be a busy day but that the main trading day would be the Monday. In fact it was the Sunday, as so many people travelled out. So where to next year? Two highly-successful promotions in a row. Will the retailer change a winning formula? For once the answer is yes. Next year we will have a completely different concept, says Carty. We got very, very good support from the relevant suppliers and they were generally pleased. We moved the business forward. It was a good campaign. It got excellent reviews from the passengers coming through. With the [Asia] charter flights, for example, we ve had lots of passengers coming into the shops and taking photos with their children of the cars and so on. Gauging demand for F1 merchandise continues to be a difficult science however. A significantly increased offer in arrivals, for example, resulted in a lower-than-expected increase in sales, simply because many of the fans were such dedicated followers that they already had the merchandise. Overall, though, the F1 merchandise went very well, says Carty. Given the unpredictable results of this year s F1 season and the outstanding form of Bahrain Grand Prix-winning team Renault will the retailer offer a wider range next year? If we find that Renault have a cracking season this year, and is high profile, we ll definitely look at them for next year, says Carty. Bahrain Duty Free General Manager Maurice Burke professes himself pleased with the results.* It s a fantastic promotion, he says. Last year we did over AED500,000 in the five-day event. This year we ve done something similar maybe AED550,000. Next year, he enthuses, can only be bigger and better. We re looking forward to it already. We have a winning formula it worked last year and this year, but we have to improve again for next year. And with the support of our suppliers we can do that. Last year when we had our first F1 Grand Prix the buzz here was absolutely electrifying. This year I The Moodie Report 89
AIRPORT RETAIL PROMOTION Bahrain Duty Free May/June 2005 thought we might lose some of that but we haven t it has actually increased. The message is clear. Here s a retailer that has long believed investment is the key to growing both the top and bottom line. Renault s Fernando Alonso may have triumphed in the big race itself but there was one other big winner in this Grand Prix Bahrain Duty Free. Bahrain Duty Free sponsors a local hero Bahrain Duty Free has underlined its commitment to the local community with a major sponsorship of young Bahraini motor racing star Hamed Al Fardan on the Formula BMW Asia circuit. At the age of 17 Al Fardan (second from left) isn t old enough to hold a driving licence in Bahrain, but that doesn t stop him on the track. The young man has real pace, and set fastest lap during the race that preceded the Formula One event. He finished commendably in fourth place after an eventful drive that at one stage saw him almost airborne after hitting a kerb. Does he feel the pressure of being a local hero at so young an age? Not really, he told The Moodie Report. There are three drivers from Bahrain and I m the youngest, so I m still learning. Will he ever graduate to F1? That s the dream of all drivers, he smiles. Key to getting him there is having the financial means to learn the ropes at a lower level, and he says Bahrain Duty Free s sponsorship has been critical. I thank them very much. Sponsorship is so important. Without that support there is no point in trying. They helped bring me into the team. For Bahrain Duty Free General Manager Maurice Burke (second from right) the sponsorship is a natural extension of the retailer s efforts to support its home country. He s a Bahraini national, and we always want to cultivate and nurture young Bahrainis into jobs. This guy is tipped to go places, so it s a great opportunity. Note: Formula BMW is the world s leading entrylevel class in Formula racing. In 2005 the series will be held in Germany, Britain, Asia and the USA. Up-and-coming drivers as young as 15 years old are given the opportunity of entering motor racing with the hi-tech, standard FB2 race car. *Look out for the next edition of Travel Retail TV on The Moodie Report.com, in which Maurice Burke talks to Peter Marshall about this award-winning promotion. The curved sweep of the shopping complex lends itself to the concept of a race track. Bahrain Duty Free put skid marks on the walkways and there was even a starting grid at both ends. Below, Nestlé International Travel Retail developed tailored promotions 90 The Moodie Report
AIRPORT RETAIL PROMOTION Bahrain Duty Free May/June 2005 A Sense of Place: the Bahrain Grand Prix was a uniquely Middle Eastern experience, and Bahrain Duty Free became an integral part of it Photos: Mike Munday, Analynne Singson 92 The Moodie Report
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF H.H. SHEIKH AHMED BIN SAEED AL MAKTOUM, PRESIDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AVIATION, DUBAI AND CHAIRMAN OF EMIRATES GROUP middle east exclusive THE 3RD DUTY FREE, TRAVEL RETAIL AND LUXURY PRODUCT EXHIBITION IN THE REGION, FOR THE REGION 6, 7 & 8 DECEMBER, 2005 DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE, U.A.E The Middle East - the Envy of the Industry Following the success of Middle East Exclusive 2004, more than 110 exhibitors displayed their Brands and Products to over 2,000 Operators, Buyers and Executives from the Travel Retail, Duty Free and Luxury Goods Industry. Organised by Contact Ben Leighton on ben@channelsexhibitions.ae to join the exhibition, to secure your Brands, be seen and get listed at the worlds fastest growing Duty Free Show Channels Exhibitions, P.O. Box 55254, Dubai, U.A.E. Tel.+971 4 2824737, Fax. +971 4 2825757 Email: channels@channelsexhibitions.ae Supported by www.middleeastexclusive.com