GERMANY. Schäfer Airport Retail has opened its latest Move consumer electronics stores at Stuttgart and Nürnberg airports.
A 70sqm store has been unveiled at Stuttgart Airport Terminal 3 while a 35sqm outlet has opened at Nürnberg Airport, opposite the main duty free store.
In addition to its own range of electronic Move accessories, both stores feature electronics products from brands including JBL, Sony, Sennheiser, Ultimate Ears, Apple, Samsung, Pantone and Logitech.
These electronics offerings are complemented by travel bags from Wenger and Thule, a range of travel adaptors from Go and cables and phone accessories from SBS. Schäfer Airport Retail’s newly-launched PPE brand, Interhealth, also has shelf space.
The Move store at Stuttgart incorporates a games zone and a gadgets zone, featuring products from Playstation, ORB, Mobility on board, Lexon, Xtorm, Beurer, Necklacy, Fresh’n Rebel and Fun Factory.
The back walls at both outlets have large digital screens showing centrally-managed digital content, which Schäfer Airport Retail said adds “theatre and atmosphere” in-store. The screens have been installed as part of a strategic agreement between Samsung and Schäfer Travel Retail.
Move staff are on hand to advise on electronics purchases, while additional product information can be taken from QR codes in-store that link to product overviews.
Schäfer Airport Retail also noted that the two new stores have “great visibility” with Stuttgart’s T3 home to airlines including Lufthansa, Air France, SAS, British Airways, Aer Lingus and Air Baltic and the shop at Nürnberg positioned for 100% of departing passengers to walk by.
Schäfer Airport Retail Managing Partner John Woodhouse said: “The Stuttgart store has a superb location for a consumer electronics store and its size has allowed for a full gaming zone, including a Playstation demo zone. This will be particularly popular with GenZ travellers looking to pass twenty minutes before they hop on a flight. As with our store at Düsseldorf, we have built a brand zone for this Stuttgart location, which we will use for new product launches.”
He added: “Nürnberg features our latest design iteration, with the store furniture a shade darker to allow the brands to stand out even more. This new presence completes a great journey for Schäfer Airport Retail at the airport. Our path has taken us from four SKUs on a shelf, to a gondola, to a shop-in-shop in the main duty free store, to this great standalone store.”
Schäfer Airport Retail emphasised that all necessary measures are in place to make customers feel safe in-store in the Move outlets at both airports, with hand sanitiser stations available and regular cleaning carried out.
Assessing the current challenges faced by German travel retailers in the face of COVID-19, Woodhouse said: “Travel retail in Germany is tough at the moment, with traffic currently at less than 80% of last year’s levels, but we are approaching the market with a prudent, glass half-full attitude. Our store investments are for the future as the business will recover – we are certain people will eventually travel again in great numbers.”
