Positive attitude
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As The Nuance Group continues to set new benchmarks in travel-retail fashion, Deborah Sidey catches up with two of the retailer's busiest buyers: Alex Anson (pictured left) and Mario Ritter (pictured below)
In recent years, The Nuance Group has emerged as one of the most dominant players in the travel-retail fashion sector. Fashion and fashion accessories now account for over one-third of the retailer’s European business, and with the opening of the landmark 835sqm Attitude mega-store at Manchester Airport in December – deemed to be the largest airport fashion outlet in the world – Nuance has clearly outlined the strategic importance of the category to its future travel-retail growth.
At the sharp end of these stylish endeavours lies a buying team which has shown an inspirational knack for bringing together big brand names. In addition to its involvement in the Manchester project, in the last six months the buying team has played a key role in a number of exciting new fashion offers, including six new outlets at Hamburg Airport and – via Nuance’s joint venture with Aeroports de Paris, ‘Duty Free Paris’ – the beginning of an ambitious programme of store openings at Paris Charles de Gaulle. The rest of 2009 promises no let up in the frenetic pace.
Category manager fashion and accessories and luxury hard goods, Europe, Mario Ritter joined The Nuance Group in July 2006, and has seen the retailer’s fashion business grow from 17% to 40% in the last two years. He stepped straight into the discussions surrounding the Manchester Attitude project, working closely with the airport’s commercial team to develop a mix of brands to match the terminal’s passenger profile.
“It was an incredibly exciting project, and having been involved right from the beginning, I was responsible for building up the store concept, which now has become a benchmark for all of our future fashion projects,” Ritter tells Brands.
“Based on the passenger information, we spent a long time investigating and choosing the most successful brand portfolio for the airport,” he explains. “In addition, we placed a special focus on introducing new and local brands, bringing Kenneth Cole shoes and accessories, Paris Hilton handbags and Manchester-based outerwear brand Henri Lloyd to the mix.”
Working alongside Ritter on the Attitude concept was buying director Europe, Alex Anson, who joined the Swiss retailer at the end of 2006. Bringing with him years of experience in the UK domestic market with drinks retailer Threshers and supermarket giant Tesco, Anson was aware of the risks involved in pushing the boundaries of a retail sector, particularly in the current economic climate.
“At Manchester, we brought in some luxury brands that had never been offered at the airport before, and yes, there’s an element of risk in doing so. But we had to be confident that we had the knowledge and experience to make these decisions,” he argues.
“The economic recession makes it difficult for retail, particularly fashion retail,’ he adds. “But ultimately we will overcome the current trade issues and we have to believe we are investing in the future.”
Both Anson and Ritter will be keeping a close eye on the Manchester Airport store as 2009 progresses. However, for now it is a case of “watch and breathe”, says Anson, as the store settles down and the buyers turn their attention to a growing list of new projects.
This spring, The Nuance Group will make its debut at Cologne-Bonn airport, with an offer that includes a 226sqm Cult fashion store, stocking trendy brand names such as Diesel, Pepe Jeans and Marc O’Polo. In addition, the buying team will be involved in shaping the new fashion offer at Geneva International airport in partnership with CDG Participations, with a 420sqm multi-brand fashion and accessories store due to open next month, followed by a 120sqm mono-brand outlet in November.
Meanwhile, work in Paris continues. “We have just opened seven stores, but by the end of the project we will be operating about 50 fashion accessories outlets, so there’s lots more work to be done,” says Anson.
What is apparent is that these buyers are not phased by the challenges ahead. “It’s all about having the flexibility to adapt to customer needs,” concludes Anson. “Whether it’s placing luxury brands in premium terminals or pulling together a mid-market offer, what’s important is that we have the expertise to bring the right clusters of brands together, and that we are constantly evolving our concepts to ensure that they are relevant.”
Local hero
Founded in Manchester in 1963, outerwear brand Henri Lloyd has brought a local flavour to Manchester Airport’s new Attitude store. This renowned manufacturer of marine clothing – which launched its first men’s lifestyle fashion collection in 1984 – has delivered a stylish range of men’s and women’s clothing and accessories across an 800sqft slice of the store. And according to Henri Lloyd commercial director, Graham Allen, it was the ideal retail opportunity for a brand set on international expansion.
“Manchester’s our home city and therefore it gives us a great deal of pride to be represented so well within the new airport development,” he tells Brands. “The airport delivers an incredibly wide audience of international and UK consumers, and as such offers a great commercial opportunity – plus we believe that the concept of ‘travel’ fits perfectly with the Henri Lloyd heritage of exploration and pioneering sailing activities.”
Henri Lloyd currently exports to over 25 international markets, and this spring there are new store openings planned in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Sydney and St Petersburg.
Style setter
Having worked closely with The Nuance Group to deliver the 835sqm Attitude fashion outlet, Manchester Airports Group’s commercial team is boosting its style credentials further with a slew of new store openings. Well-known high street names Monsoon/Accessorize, Mango, Fat Face, JD and shoe retailer Kurt Geiger will all make their debut at the airport this summer, reports head of category Steve Foster, and with two more units still to let, the commercial team is promising a wealth of fashion choice for the airport’s 22 million passengers.
Meanwhile, Nuance’s Attitude store has been well-received, Foster tells Brands: “It has performed strongly throughout the festive period and into 2009, and passengers from the Euro Zone in particular are enjoying great savings as a result of the current exchange rate against the euro.”
“We believe that with this store we have achieved the optimal ratio between international, proven brands and those with more local appeal,” he adds, “delivering an offer that is attractive and unique but still commercial and with affordable price ranges.”
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