RETAIL Strategies for pop-ups have also evolved. They are now regular calendar fixtures for airport concourses – just like high-profile promotions in-store – and are also used to meet a variety of objectives – from full brand immersion and small-business development, to supporting local labels, sustainability messaging and category education. AGS Airports, which runs Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports in the UK, has increased its use of pop-ups. Craig Norton, retail account manager at Glasgow Airport, explains, “They allow us to build up a profile for a particular discipline during peak periods before entering a longer-term deal or tendering for that retail segment. They can also support refurbishment works within a unit by enabling a reduced product line to remain available.” Pop-ups can also add incremental sales either during peak periods or when brands want to showcase on-trend products or categories that may benefit from their own temporary space. “Our successful pop-ups so far have come from current retailers creating additional service points during peak periods,” Norton added. Pop-ups allow brands to push the envelope on their creative expression Lee Roberts, Zebra Moving on from transactions In his book, Future Ready Retail , Ibrahim Ibrahim, managing director of Portland Design, says that retail must shift from being simply a distribution channel to “moments of experience”. In airports, brands and retail concessionaires understand this and know that pop-ups are a way to deliver that engagement and also bring in ‘fresh blood’. Ibrahim says that the industry needs to create “places that are not just full of shops but experiences they will remember as mementos of their visit”. This is something that airports are trying to achieve. At Zebra, a global design agency doing a lot of work in Middle Eastern airports, director Lee Roberts says, “With a low capex and greater flexibility when it comes to design guidelines, airport pop-ups allow brands to push the envelope on their creative expression. They are a fantastic format to present limited-edition lines or new products to passengers in transit who are killing time and looking for last-minute gifts or a personal treat.” Changi Airport is a good example. It has been emerging as a spirits pop-up mecca since Lotte Duty Free took over the liquor and tobacco concession. Last year, nine pop-up stores introduced limited editions from brands like The Macallan, Johnnie Walker and Hennessy. Care needs to be taken on the sustainability front, however, as building and then tearing down temporary stores is not environmentally friendly. But pop-up builders like Elba, a partner to many high-end brands, are on the case. CEO Thibaut de Malézieux says, “By nature, temporary pop-ups are very challenging in terms of sustainability unless we make them to be reused. Materials are one of the main aspects. Not only do we design stores using eco-friendly materials but we also take the full lifecycle into consideration.” Elba is now able to provide complete CO 2 emissions data from material acquisition and production to installation and afterlife. “Our latest best-practice case is the Moët Hennessy pop-up we built for the 250 th anniversary of Veuve Clicquot, which is now reused in its boutique at Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2F,” says de Malézieux. The company also created pop-ups for L’Occitane’s Sol de Janeiro brand. Designed in a modular way, they can be moved from one location to another to scale up reuse rates. A 27m 2 L’Artisan Parfumeur pop-up at CDG’s Terminal 2F ABOVE COLLECTIBLE POP CULTURE LANDS IN SINGAPORE CHANGI AIRPORT, SINGAPORE 1 The Funko pop-up store at Changi Airport’s revamped Terminal 2 – the brand’s first in an Asia-Pacific airport – came to an end at the end of February this year after a six-month run. The US company sells vinyl figurines in its Pop!, Vinyl and Soda collections, which are highly collectible and coveted. This latest Funko outpost, which also featured an exclusive Singapore merlion plus trendy pop-culture-themed Loungefly backpacks, was operated in partnership with concessionaire Simply Toys. It had an activity area for kids and offered interactive experiences such as photo ops with life-size versions of the figures. Posing with Harry Potter, Dancing Groot and Batman were all part of the experience. Batman statue photo op at the Funko pop-up 28 Passenger Terminal World APRIL 2024 www.PassengerTerminalToday.com