Swedavia is investing heavily in developing the commercial offering at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. This will now be clearly noticeable when the first part of the brand new Market Square in Terminal 5 opens its doors. Behind the investment is a new long-term strategy with a focus on variety, innovation and value for money.
The marketplace in Terminal 5, which is now opening, will be the heart of Arlanda's commercial offering. A variety of food, drink, shopping and service centered on an 11,000 square meter area directly adjacent to the new state-of-the-art security checkpoint. The areas have been carefully planned to make it easier for travelers and help create an inspiring and pleasant environment. Many of the food and drink concepts will be completely new to the airport.
– Our vision with the new marketplace is to make shopping, food and drink part of the experience for those who are going out and traveling. There will be a varied selection of both restaurants and shops that will suit many different needs. The investment is Swedavia's largest ever in the commercial offering at Arlanda and with this, together with the new modern security check, we will significantly improve the traveler experience at the airport, says Charlotte Ljunggren, Chief Commercial Officer at Swedavia.
The interest in establishing itself in the new Marketplace has been and remains great. Swedavia's new commercial strategy prioritizes getting the right mix with a variety in product range, price categories and brands. The location at Arlanda with approximately 28 million passengers per year is very attractive for commercial players who are involved in creating food, drink and shopping experiences beyond the ordinary.
– Our new focus is on competitiveness, value for money and a wide range rather than ”luxury shopping” for all the travelers, up to 100,000 per day, who pass through Marknadsplatsen before their trip. Many of our partners are now also choosing to invest heavily with completely new concepts and their largest units ever. Among other things, the new Taxfree store will be unique for Arlanda and will be twice as large as the previous one, says Charlotte Ljunggren.
After the opening of the first part of the Market Square, the offering at Arlanda will develop gradually with more and more players and with the aim of being completely ready around the turn of the year 2024–2025. The next major stage in the project is expected at the turn of the year when the 4,000 square meter food and beverage venture ”Verandan” opens. It will, among other things, house a completely new fine-dining concept and a new Food Hall.
– When you are traveling, regardless of the purpose of the trip and whether you travel frequently or infrequently, you are already outside your usual everyday environment at the airport, which means that both shopping behavior and needs change. While e-commerce is growing stronger, the importance of experiences and inspiration during the physical shopping trip, which occurs less frequently, is growing at the same time. We have seen that travelers are receptive to news and inspiration and we want to give travelers both unique and local offers and make the visit to our Marketplace an experience, says Charlotte Ljunggren.
The procurements for the Market Square, and the commercial offering at the entire airport, are made after extensive work with external analysis and customer surveys. Inspiration has also been taken from other international airports and current consumption trends. With this in mind, the plan for Arlanda's commercial areas has been set with a shopping offering with a focus on breadth and value for money, a large variety in terms of food and drink and an international touch mixed with clear Scandinavian influences.
– The pent-up need we see when it comes to travel after the pandemic also includes shopping and purchasing food and drinks. Our existing stores at Arlanda have had good sales development this year and also in 2022. At the same time, the new shopping offering that is now being developed is something completely new for the airport and we have high expectations for the new offering, concludes Charlotte Ljunggren.
According to the press release.
Brief facts about Arlanda's new Marketplace
Surface: Just over 11,000 square meters
Opening: Gradually from the second half of 2023 until around the turn of 2024/2025.
Number of establishments: Over 40 new store and restaurant concepts.
Exposure: The stores are exposed to approximately 60,000–100,000 travelers per day, or 23 million travelers per year, who have the opportunity to shop, eat and run errands before their trip.
Stores included in the new initiative: Among the new store concepts are Lakritsroten, which is making its largest investment ever, Stockholm Duty Free, which is opening a new modern duty-free store of 2,500 square meters, InMotion, the electronics chain that sells the latest in electronics from the biggest brands, and is now opening its first establishments in Sweden, ÆRA with both a store for outdoor and fitness clothing and a store with well-known brands from both the Nordic region and the rest of the world, Sweshop, the souvenir store fronted by a large Dala horse that changes color and style according to the season, the clothing stores J. Lindeberg and GANT, World of Toys and and Global Blue.
New store openings in Marknadsplatsen that have opened: Stockholm Duty Free, InMotion, Sweshop, Kronans Apotek, 7-Eleven, Adlibris Pocket Shop, Forex.
Restaurants included in the new initiative: In the restaurant segment, the procurements for this contract period are complete. The majority of the new offering are new concepts/brands, such as La Girafe by Pontus Frithiof (fine dining with French food) and Monstro by Pontus Frithiof (casual dining where Italian cuisine meets American), RC Café & Pâtisserie, Nordic Lounge by RC, Indochine and a new Foodhall with, among others, Bread Break, La Neta and Baba Grill.
New restaurants in Marknadsplatsen that have opened: Hawaii Poké, Eatery Garden and Jureskogs.
Total procurement value: SEK 10 billion for commercial procurements for Swedavia's airports in 120 procurements in line with current EU legislation on procurements (LUK). The procurement cycles are 3–5 years.
Pricing: Prices should be competitive and not exceed pricing for similar goods in the region's stores outside the airport by more than 10 percent.
