Alpha secures 10-year extension at Manchester Airport

Huge coup for Alpha as it secures 10-year extension at Manchester Airport – 28/09/06
Source: ©The Moodie Report
By Dermot Davitt
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PHIL SHILSON'S DREAM TICKET
In December 2005, The Moodie Report reported on Manchester T2.
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UK. Alpha Airports Group has signed a ten-year extension to its retail contract with Manchester Airport. The contract is expected to realise turnover in excess of £800 million over the ten years.

The contract extension, active from 1 April 2006, covers Alpha’s duty and tax free retail stores. Alpha will make a capital investment of around £8 million to drive further revenues and turnover at the airport. A significant proportion of the capital will be invested throughout the first two years of the contract which will include doubling the retail floor space at T1 to 22,000sq ft. The retailer said it would use “innovative design and retailing methods to grow spend per passenger passing through all the terminals”.

Peter Williams, Chairman and CEO of Alpha Airports Group, said: “This is one of the largest contracts in the UK airport sector and is a wonderful example of how a retailer and landlord can work together to create a step-change in the way services are delivered to consumers. Working together Alpha and Manchester Airport will set a new agenda for retailing at all airports.”

"Working together Alpha and Manchester Airport will set a new agenda for retailing at all airports."
Peter Williams, Chairman and CEO, Alpha Airports Group
Alpha first started working with Manchester at Terminal 1 in the 1970s and then opened stores in Terminals 2 and 3 in 2001 and 2002.

Williams added: “We are delighted to continue to work with Manchester Airport on plans to maximise retail flow and improve customer service. Travel retail has undergone significant change over the last ten years and we will be working together to provide a more sophisticated and targeted offering. There is a very small time window to engage with the travellers passing through the terminals, so we must have an experience in place which meets and exceeds their needs and expectations. Together with Manchester Airport, one of the fastest growing airports in the UK, we have the opportunity to create the blueprint for 'next generation' travel retail.”

The development work at Manchester includes the opening of a new store in T3 in April 2007 and the increase in the retailing area in T1, which is expected to be completed by April 2008. In addition to this expenditure Alpha will also be making further investment into the T2 store through the contract term, which it said would “ensure a premium brand offer for the ever sophisticated consumer”.

Geoff Muirhead CBE, CEO of Manchester Airport Group, said: “This is a significant and important contract for Manchester Airport as it will reinforce its position as the hub airport for the north of England. Over the next four years we will reinvent retail and catering across all three terminals and our relationship with Alpha is crucial to these plans. Like us, Alpha has a real passion for delivering the best possible retail solutions, which will benefit everyone using the airport.”