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| NUANCE UNVEILS SPECTACULAR NEW TAX FREE STORE AT GENEVA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT |
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| Zurich, November 3, 2009 – The Nuance Group proudly presents the latest addition to its portfolio of state-of-the-art duty free stores. The new Duty + Tax Free Store at Geneva International Airport covers 650 square metres and presents a breathtaking choice of products from the perfume and cosmetics, wine, liquor and confectionery categories under The Nuance Group’s successful “World of…” concept. Nuance was confirmed as the operator of the duty free concession for the next five years last March. |
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The new store is located in Geneva International Airport’s Departures area, in the same location as the previous shop. It has been enlarged to measure 650 square metres (from 450 square metres) and undergone a complete refurbishment.
Roughly 60 per cent of the total space are dedicated to perfume and cosmetics in their respective “World of Perfume and Cosmetics” and “World of Wellness”. The big beauty brands are prominently represented with studios of the major brands, personalised gondolas in their own branded environment. The additional floor space has allowed the introduction of dedicated areas e.g. for men’s skincare or men’s and women’s top ten fragrances, designed to make it easier for customers to make their choice.
For the Tax Free Store, a new tobacco concept was created, with the entire tobacco category located at the entrance of the store and displayed in a breathtaking black and white setting. As a true novelty, the merchandise is not arranged per brand, but per purchasing preferences, i.e. brands especially popular with UK customers can be found located next to each other.
Special limited cigar editions to delight aficionados
The tobacco area covers some 25 per cent of the store’s surface. Next to an ample offer of cigarettes popular with Geneva’s particular customer base, in the “World of Cigars” a high-profile 20 sqare metre humidor underlines The Nuance Group’s commitment of presenting a truly knowledgeable offer. While Geneva Airport’s cigar assortment has long been famous, with the refurbishment new space was added, allowing the introduction of an even broader offer. One of the special features is a wall bay entirely dedicated to special limited editions that are only available in Geneva.
The remainder of the space is taken up by the wine, liquor and confectionery categories and their respective worlds, “World of Wine”, “World of Champagne”, “World of Whisky” and “World of Chocolate”.
Additions to the assortment: wine and champagne
With the new concession, Nuance is for the first time able to offer customers a wine and champagne assortment. Swiss wines play an important role. An entire wall bay is dedicated to wines from the lake Geneva area, with some 20 different producers represented. In addition, there are wall bays for the mountainous Valais region and the Ticino, Switzerland’s Italian-speaking southern region. This strong offer of Swiss wines is complemented by gondolas dedicated to wines from the old and new worlds, approximately half of them of premium quality and sold at price points between CHF 500 and 1,200.
A tasting bar is located next to the wine, champagne and liquor area, presenting customers with the opportunity to get a real taste of what is sold in the shop.
The “World of Chocolate” is equally dominated by Swiss brands such as Lindt, Nestlé, Kraft, Favergé and Goldkenn. Nestlé, which is headquartered near Geneva, is present with a prominent gondola specifically designed for Geneva Airport by a local artist. The gondola is located next to a 450 kilo solid rock from the Swiss alps which is placed next to one of the entrances as one local design element.
The store features a central event space covering 12 square metres, located at half way between the two entrances to the store. The area is used to create events and shopping theatre and to promote special products. For the opening, Clarins is present with make-up artists involving customers in the creation of individual new looks.
Capturing passengers: a spectacular front
In order to alert passenger to the store’s offer, two huge video screen have been installed outside the shop to promote and communicate different messages such as Nuance’s “Best Price Guarantee”, “Geneva Duty Free Paradise” or special events including product launches.
Geneva, due to its proximity to the Alps, is a popular destination for skiers. As a special service, the new store particularly caters to the needs of the many passengers flying in on charter flights between December and April, offering 12 cash tills, an information counter and pre-order services for their enhanced convenience.
The partners’ comments
Andrea Belardini, CEO Europe for The Nuance Group, commented: “We are very pleased to have completed the refurbishment of the Geneva Tax Free Store, adding another state-of-the-art retail outlet to our portfolio. Our team has worked very closely with Geneva Airport and our key suppliers to deliver an innovative approach to airport retailing through the introduction of our “World of …” concepts including an industry-leading new premium tobacco concept, retail theatre as presented through our events area and tasting bar as well as digital media displays. I would like to thank all involved for their support and commitment to creating this beautiful new store.”
Pierre Germain, AIG’s Commercial and Finance Director, said: “This new duty free store is a milestone in the global refurbishment and extension of our airside retail area. We share with Nance a challenging objective and are confident that the concept will meet our customer's expectations and contribute to the enhancement of our shopping mall attractiveness."
The Nuance Group - Swiss-based The Nuance Group is a leader in the travel retail industry, operating 430 outlets across 58 airports and 19 countries around the globe and employing 5,200 staff. In addition to its duty- and tax-free operation, the Nuance portfolio comprises specialist shops as well as food & beverage operations, distribution, in flight services and shops in other travel retail channels.
At Geneva International Airport, The Nuance Group operates a total of nine retail outlets comprising the general merchandise Tax + Duty Free Store as well as specialist concepts for fashion and one Diplomatic shop 100 employees work for The Nuance Group Geneva.
Geneva International Airport – Geneva International Airport recorded an absolute record number of passengers in 2008 (about 11.5 million). The summer timetable for 2009 showed 104 destinations served by direct flights from Geneva (81 in Europe and 23 to other continents). The transformation of the duty free shops is part of a full renovation of the retail zone to be completed at the end of 2009.
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