Predicted rise in passengers triggers retail revamp by JHP at Bordeaux-Merignac airport

JHP is redeveloping the ’retail masterplan’ of Bordeaux-Merignac airport’s two original terminal buildings in France.

The consultancy was invited to take part in an international pitch in May on the strength of its work for Toulouse airport, which was completed in March.

JHP head of marketing Austin McGinley says the consultancy won the pitch due to its understanding of airport operations and its 20 years of experience in the sector.

He says, ’We have a niche set of skills – there are very few design consultancies that work in this space and understand the operation and the psychology of passengers, so we’re bringing that to the fore.’

Paul Jones, associate director at JHP, says that the consultancy has been briefed initially to develop short-term plans to increase revenue for the airport over the next six to 12 months.

Its research and analysis for the project has included a photographic survey, commercial studies, research into the airport’s current retail offers and passenger flow, and building evaluation.

This will be followed by redesigning the retail areas across all the airport’s terminals, on both the land side (before the security gates) and the air side (after the security gates).

JHP will also develop long-term plans to enable the airport to cope with a predicted increase in passenger numbers.

Jones says, ’At the moment the airport suffers from repetition – it has the same retail outlets in all three terminals, so it’s dividing customer numbers by three as well.

’It would be better to have a more condensed approach, with all the retail in one place.’

The project is likely to include increasing the ratio of air-side space to land-side space, which may mean moving the security gates.

In doing this, the consultancy feels it can ’optimise passenger flow across the existing terminal building space’, McGinley says, which could help increase annual passenger flow from four million to ten million by 2015.

It is hoped the first stage of the retail spaces’ redesign will be implemented in 2012.

 

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