narita takes to a new stage - the moodie davitt · pdf filevatore ferragamo and tiffany &...

44 The Moodie Report

RETAIL INNOVATION • Narita 5th Avenue May 2007

Narita? The question mark says it all. The advertis-ing for the spectacular new addition to Japan’stravel retail industry, Narita 5th Avenue, invites

consumers to challenge their pre-conceptions of retailingat the country’s premier gateway.

The main visual, a movie-style poster (page 56), featuresa young blonde Western model in a white designer dressstrutting down an illuminated gold ‘catwalk’. In fact it’san airport runway, and in the night sky a passenger jet canbe seen coming in to land.

In another fashion catwalk allusion, Narita 5th Avenue isdescribed by Narita Airport Authority (NAA) as a ‘NewStage’ and that – both literally and metaphorically – isexactly what it is.

Opened on 9 April, Narita 5th Avenue is an elegant, fash-ion-driven duty free offer far removed from what has gonebefore at Tokyo Narita Terminal Two. The new stores add2,800sq m of space to the existing 2,000sq m T2 retail offer.

But they bring much more in terms of image and ambi-ence. The gently curved fashion mall that forms the cen-trepiece of the T2 makeover features boutiques fromBvlgari, Burberry, Cartier, Coach, Gucci, Hermès, Sal-vatore Ferragamo and Tiffany & Co as well as slick newliquor & tobacco, cosmetics & fragrances and electronicsstores, plus a classy food & beverage offer, an Internetcafé and a kids’ room.

Together, the 5th Avenue stores are expected to generatesales of ¥12 billion (US$101 million) in year one.

The Moodie Report was there on 9 April to witness thebeginning of a new era in Japanese travel retail. There wasa buzz in the air as we toured the facility to capture thesights and sounds of a momentous day. 5th Avenue is astory of contrasts: out with the old displays and basicrange, in with bright, modern store fronts, vibrant mer-chandising and a diverse and attractive offer. It’s crowdedwith consumers, but never cluttered – and it sparkleswith innovation.

Narita takes toa New Stage

On the day of the opening The Moodie Report talkedabout the new concept with Narita International AirportCorporation Director Retail Management DepartmentAtsuhiko Tokuno – who has driven the airport’s upmar-ket advance – and Masa Takatsu, Merchandising Direc-tor of NAA Retailing (NAAR), the joint venture betweenNAA and long-time Narita concessionaire JATCO whichruns most of the outlets.

In keeping with the occasion, the interview is conductedin true Japanese style; we remove our shoes and sit cross-legged in a business room overlooking the tarmac. I askTokuno about the philosophy behind Narita 5th Avenue’sretail concept.

“The image of the interior is Western-style,” he replies.“That is a contrast with the Japanese style of NaritaNakamise which we opened last June in the South Wing.The design concept is what we call ‘Timeless Modern’,which aims to appeal to all consumers, regardless of nation-ality or gender and not influenced by a particular period.”

The Moodie Report 45

May 2007 RETAIL INNOVATION • Narita 5th Avenue

By Martin MoodieIt’s time to forget all those old-fashioned perceptions of Japaneseretailing. It’s time to recognise aquiet revolution by the country’sleading travel retailer. It’s time totake a walk along Narita 5th Avenue.

From tobacco to cosmetics to the Akihabaraconsumer technology-to-foods store, 5th Avenue’sfashionable flair is bolstered by a stylish presentationof the core categories

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Tokuno talks enthusiastically about “the space of luxuri-ous and gorgeous design” that opens up in front of thetraveller from the moment they enter the concourse viathe departure security control area – a stark contrast withthe previous offer and image.

“We expect that customers will have a sense of exhilara-tion before their departure,” he says. “We designed thewhole area with a view to creating an airport that couldentertain our customers – and we did it despite the hand-icap of having to renovate existing facilities.”

Having secured the support of several luxury names in theNakamise outlet last year, the same big-brand appealdominated the thinking behind 5th Avenue. “There wasa big demand from customers for top brands like Gucciand Burberry,” says Tokuno.

“We attracted the top brands in the world – and in thecase of Gucci and Burberry these are their first duty freeboutiques in Japan.”

Was it difficult to persuade such names to come onboard? “With Gucci we had already tried to attract themmany times, but we kept failing,” Tokuno replies. “But

Gucci Luxury boutique 150sq m

Burberry Luxury boutique 100sq m

Coach Luxury boutique 100sq m

Salvatore Ferragamo Luxury boutique 110sq m

Cartier Luxury boutique 160sq m

Bvlgari Luxury boutique 160sq m

Tiffany & Co. Luxury boutique 130sq m

Hermès Luxury boutique 160sq m

Fa-So-La Duty Free Cosmetics & Perfumery Cosmetics & fragrances 400sq m

Fa-So-La Duty Free Tobacco & Liquor Liquor & tobacco 100sq m

Cafe & Bar Avion Food court 80sq m

Asian Cafe Bowl Bowl Food court 400sq m

Refresh Salon Raffine well-being area Service facility 30sq m

Yahoo! Internet Cafe Service facility 150sq m

Fa-So-La Tax Free Akihabara Consumer technology, destination 400sq mmerchandise, foodstuffs

Kids’ Room Service facility 170sq m

Shop name Category Space

Narita 5th Avenue outlets

Source: NAA; The Moodie Report

Atsuhiko Tokuno: “We designed the whole area with aview to creating an airport that could entertain”

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Neuhaus Créateur Chocolatier, since 150 years the reference in luxury chocolate.

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The 160sq m Hermès boutique features the French luxury house’s characteristically brilliant window displays


last year we opened Narita Nakamise [a fine new airsideretail complex in Terminal One –Ed] and we were eval-uated favourably by a lot of brands because of Nakamise’sgreat atmosphere. As a result Gucci decided to open inNarita 5th Avenue.”

Why such a push behind fashion and luxury? “From ourcustomers’ point of view, shopping is one of the great pleas-ures of overseas travel, ranking alongside visiting historicsites and enjoying food. So we wanted customers to be ableto find their favourite brands at Narita,” Tokuno replies.

Duty free stores 2 500sq m 6 1,140sq m 8 1,640sq m 5 1,380sq m

Brand boutiques 8 1,070sq m 5 200sq m 13 1,270sq m 9 1,220sq m

General shops 1 400sq m 2 50sq m 3 450sq m 2 610sq m

Food & beverage 2 480sq m 1 210sq m 3 690sq m 1 330sq m

Service facilities 3 350sq m 2 410sq m 5 760sq m 20sq m

Total 16 2,800sq m 16 2,010sq m 32 4,810sq m 17 3,560sq m

Section Narita 5th Avenue NaritaNew shops Existing shops Total Nakamise

Shops Space Shops Space Shops Space Shops Space

How the new Narita takes shape


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“And from a company management point of view it hada lot to do with creating stores that are capable of boost-ing our non-aeronautical revenues. Our company’s planis to drive these revenues as much as possible, andNakamise and 5th Avenue are core to achieving that.”Increasing non-aeronautical income should enable Nari-ta to ease its landing fees, which are among the highestin the world.

The stores have also been tailored specifically to theNarita passenger profile – 75% of shoppers are Japanese.“Some people have said that Japanese travellers can buythose luxury brands abroad, but the big advantage here isthat the staff can speak Japanese,” Tokuno points out.“We also put a big emphasis on after-sales service, so thatcustomers can enjoy shopping in a relaxed way.”

In fact the whole principle of customer service is of fun-damental importance to NAA, he says. “Our manage-ment vision is ‘We pursue customers’ satisfaction and aimat providing services that are beyond expectation’.Improving customer service is a key issue for us and oursubsidiaries.

“The whole company make a big effort to improve cus-tomer satisfaction. The staff at the airport bonds like afamily and treats customers well. The aim is to make cus-tomer service our top priority, and not just at Narita 5thAvenue – we would like customers to enjoy our airport asan integrated concept, not just as a passing point.”

Adds Takatsu: “For fashion boutiques such as Hermès andCartier we have management contracts with JATCO –and they train their sales staff very hard, sending them totrain with Hermès in Paris, for example.”

Walk-through, not walk byThe creation of a near walk-through store concept (theaisles lead between the stores) will obviously boost foot-fall. And such is the accessibility and quality of the offerthat store penetration and spend seem sure to rise sharply,too. “Narita 5th Avenue is a large shopping mall whichenables customers to enjoy shopping by wanderingaround the area, while Narita Nakamise is a straight-linestreet,” notes Tokuno.

“The circuit-style shopping mall, which features a smoothcurve, produces a fascinating space that makes customerswant to walk into it.”

The back of the retail complex is what Tokuno describesas “a disadvantageous space”. As a result, interestingly,NAA chose to put one of its big drawcards there – the

5th Avenue is Tokyo Narita Airport’s second greatretail opening in the past 12 months. The renova-tion of Terminal One’s South Wing led to the intro-duction in mid 2006 of Nakamise – a strip ofboutiques which were at that time unrivalled in thecountry’s airport retail channel.

Whereas 5th Avenue uses the tag line ‘New Stage’,for Nakamise it was ‘Big Change’ – and once againthe copywriters were right on the money. The3,500sq m area offers a long ‘street’ of stores andboutiques, again highlighted by top luxury names,including Salvatore Ferragamo, Armani, RalphLauren, Cartier, Bvlgari, Hermès, Tiffany & Co, andCoach. They are bolstered by more traditional dutyfree stores, dedicated to liquor & tobacco, cosmet-ics & fragrances and the Akihabara concept sellingconsumer technology, Japanese food products anddestination merchandise.

Because of its straight-line layout Nakamise lacksthe charm of its 5th Avenue counterpart – but not,apparently, its pulling power. During The MoodieReport’s visit the shops were packed with cus-tomers. Goodness knows what the area must looklike during peak periods such as Golden Week.

The success of Nakamise has not only driven com-mercial revenues at Narita Airport and lifted thewhole consumer offer: it has laid down a qualitativebenchmark which the world’s top luxury brandshave acknowledged through their presence in 5thAvenue. As a double act, Narita’s Big Change andNew Stage have already proven a spectacularsuccess.

Big Change leads to New Stage


Akihabara consumer technology-to-foods store. Heexplains: “Akihabara has a big theme and a wide entranceto attract customers.”

Around the same area travellers can also find what

Tokuno describes as “purposeful shops”, including aYahoo! Internet facility, a Raffine well-being boutique andvarious food & beverage outlets.

The boutiques add glamour to the retail complex, but it


Retail makeover: othercategories are important,but fragrances andcosmetics hold centrestage at 5th Avenue

Liquor30%

Tobacco70%

Source: ANA; The Moodie Report

Sales in Nakamise, T1 South Wing (2 June 2006–28 February 2007)

Make-up38%Fragrance

16%

Skincare33%

Shiseido 13%

Cosmetics&

Perfumeryshop

Liquor &

Tobaccoshop

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For information about opening a Bijoux Terner boutique contact:

Charles Pelegrin · + (1) 786 301 0190 · [email protected] Souto + (1) 305 606 2581 · email [email protected]

Corporate Office: 6950 North West 77th Court · Miami · Florida 33166Telephone + (1) 305 500 7500 · Fax + (1) 305 500 7593

[email protected]

Travel in luxury.Smile.

And always bring home more thanone great accessory.

Photo: Robert Daly – Getty Images

TFWA Asia Pacifi c Booth #8

Untitled-10 1 25/4/07 14:51:41

is cosmetics & fragrances that holds cen-tre stage, in terms of both space andrevenue. So how did NAAR approachthis pivotal category in terms of retaildesign and store execution?

“The retail design of the categorisedcosmetics store makes it possible forcustomers to enter from the front andfrom either side,” Tokuno replies.

“This offers customers the abilityto easily drop in and buy.

“We have also used fixtures andfittings as low as possible –130cm – in order to make theview across the store as good as it can

be. And we have opted for a mix-ture of popular overseas brands aswell as the top Japanese names.”

How optimistic is he for thefuture? “The whole company goalis to lift non-aeronautical revenuesand with Nakamise and 5th Avenuewe can increase retail sales. In 2010the parallel runway will be complet-ed and then air traffic will increasesignificantly.

“In accordance with that increase thenumber of customers will also increase. Sowe feel optimistic.”

NAAR is considering renovating the



What women want: Bvlgari is just one of the beautifully presented luxury boutiques designed to encourage Japanese travellers to buy at home – in Tokyo Airport – rather than abroad

Untitled-10 1 25/4/07 14:51:05

For information about opening a Bijoux Terner boutique contact:

Charles Pelegrin · + (1) 786 301 0190 · [email protected] Souto + (1) 305 606 2581 · email [email protected]

Corporate Office: 6950 North West 77th Court · Miami · Florida 33166Telephone + (1) 305 500 7500 · Fax + (1) 305 500 7593

[email protected]

Some of our mostluxurious accessories

come in pairs.

Photo: Robert Daly – Getty Images

TFWA Asia Pacifi c Booth #8

Untitled-10 1 25/4/07 14:51:05

existing T2 shops next, in order to create a better syner-gy between old and new: but for now it’s time simply toreflect on a job well done.

As we exit the interview room we see the crowds pour-ing into the new stores. Tokuno concludes with a smile:“We’re very relieved to see so many people in 5th

Avenue. We are very happy to see people with such highexpectations.”

There’s no question about it, Narita’s ‘New Stage’ isworthy of the build-up. It’s retailing’s equivalent ofhaute couture, and Japanese travel shopping is all thebetter for it.



Others23%

Cathay Pacific

5%

American Airlines

5%

Air China7%


Narita T2 airline profile by departures

JAL60%

Source: Dufry; The Moodie Report

Sales in Nakamise, T1 South Wing (2 June 2006–28 February 2007)

Categoryshare

across twoshops

Liquor 13%

Tobacco30%

Make-up 22%

Skin-care19%

Fragrance9%

Shiseido 7%

The huge (160sq m)Cartier boutique iselegance personified,thanks to a minimalistdisplay and rich redwalls nicely offset bywooden units andflooring

Habanos-Monticristo.indd 1 21/4/07 13:54:38

Health Warning: Tobacco seriously damages health.

Habanos-Monticristo.indd 1 21/4/07 13:54:38



With a name like 5th Avenue it’s not surprising thatspace is the overwhelming characteristic of Narita’s self-styled ‘New Stage’.

The gently curving aisles are wide, lushly carpeted andeminently stylish. Everywhere there is the feeling ofluxury and refinement, from the 150sq m Gucci boutiquewith its clean, stainless steel surrounds to the elegantCafé & Bar Avion that looks out over the tarmac andrunways.

Besides being luxurious, the stores are also accessible. Astravellers clear security 5th Avenue is right in front ofthem, offering multiple points of entry to various outlets.The central attraction is the cosmetics and fragrancesstore, an open plan 400sq m outlet without any frontage,doors or walls, allowing the potential shopper to enterand exit freely.

A stunning dual Chanel display – Rouge Allure and anew collection for face, lips and eyes – entices the travellerin to a cosmetics-dominated offer that features top brandssuch as Clinique, Lancôme, Estée Lauder and YSL, as wellas Japanese brands led by the store’s best-seller, Shiseido.

The store offers a telling contrast to the oft-replicated

beauty offer in the established T2 outlets, just yardsaway. While the latter are cramped and plain, the newoutlet sparkles with innovation and variety.

The outrageous fluorescent pink and orange hair of theMAC sales ladies contrasts with the white lab coats ofthose in the Clinique section. There’s a brilliantlycoloured Shu Uemura area, a Tokyo Lash bar, and afeisty, almost film-studio combination of black steel andsoft pastel pink lighting. Music blares out over the tannoyand everywhere there is a buzz in the air. It’s a store ofcontrasts and of ceaseless activity – crowded with con-sumers but never cluttered.

Across the far aisle stands the tobacco & liquor outlet, at100sq m just a quarter of the size of its beauty productscounterpart. That says much about how the Japaneseduty free channel has evolved down the years. Gone is theliquor and tobacco-dominated offer of the 1970s and1980s, to be superseded by the 21st century dominanceof cosmetics, fashion, electronics and luxury.

Liquor still has its place – but now the focus is on super-premium and ultra-premium lines from the likes of Hen-nessy, Rémy Martin, Martell, Chivas Regal and JohnnieWalker. Each is nicely presented in wall units, layeredaccording to age or quality statement. Johnnie Walkerruns the gamut from Black Label through Gold, Green,Blue and the new Blue Label King George V (¥46,000),while Hennessy makes the steps from VSOP to XO toParadise to Richard (¥140,000).

Taking a walk along 5th AvenueFollowing The Moodie Report's interview with NAA DirectorRetail Management Atsuhiko Tokuno and Retailing DirectorMerchandising Masa Takatsu, we took a walk along Japan'sNew Stage: 5th Avenue.



Outside the store, promotional staff tempt passers-bywith samples of Royal Salute – the days of such ultra-pre-mium items just walking off the shelves are long gone.

Tobacco sales though are going strong, reinvigorated inrecent times by the huge popularity of Chunghwa andother Chinese brands with mainland travellers. There’s asuperb wall display for Mild 7 alongside similarly attrac-tive displays from the likes of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strikeand 555, as well as a big presence from Philip Morris, ledby flagship brand Marlboro.

To the other side of the cosmetics and fragrances store isthe aisle that leads through the majority of the fashionboutiques. A 110sq m Salvatore Ferragamo outlet is firstup. This big, open store offers shoes, leather and ties formen as well as handbags, purses, smaller accessories andscarves for women.

Next is a huge (160sq m) Cartier boutique. This is ele-gance personified, thanks to a minimalist display andrich red walls nicely offset by wooden units and flooring.The aisles then sweeps around a curve that holds an ele-gantly merchandised Coach (100sq m) outlet to the leftand a 160sq m Bvlgari boutique to the right.

The latter features big department store style windowsand a split area – one with wooden flooring that offersjewellery and watches while an adjoining section has tiledfloors and includes fashion and accessories, ties, purses,wallet, bags, sunglasses and handbags. In keeping with 5thAvenue’s spirit of accessibility there are two points ofentry to the store.

The other boutiques all look the part. Tiffany & Co

dazzles like the high class jeweller it is; all items are underglass, and there are seating areas for prospective purchasersto study pieces. Neat little displays are set into the walls.

Next door is a stunning 160sq m Hermès boutique, fea-turing its trademark window displays – all greens to the leftand all orange to the right. Inside the Hermès logo isimbedded in the tiles while the products range from scarvesand ties to ¥31,000 (US$260) dressing gowns for children.

Around the next aisle is Gucci, a cutting-edge 150sq mstore featuring an ultra-modern grey steel look and evok-ing a tremendous sense of space.

The Fa-So-La-run Akihabara shop may be at the back of5th Avenue, but on opening day it was jam-packed withcustomers. As we enter a media scrum forms, attractednot by The Moodie Report’s presence but by that offamous Japanese model Kurara Chibana, runner-up in lastyear’s Miss Universe competition.

But even after the beauty queen is gone the store remainspacked. There’s something for everyone in here, fromconsumer technology – including a stunning strobe-lighted Sony area – to toys, souvenirs and gorgeouslypackaged Japanese foodstuffs.

A Kimono-clad woman gives out samples, while insidethe crowd jostles over Japanese cakes, sweets and sou-venirs, while alongside a colourful Swatch area heads afashion watches section including local favourites Seikoand Casio as well as an international line-up includingFossil, Diesel and DKNY.

The food & beverage offer embraces Café & Bar Avion andthe quirkily named Asian Café Bowl Bowl, both suitablyunderstated and perfectly in tune with the overall ambience.

The tour is complete and the photographers andreporters make their way back to landside.

But the shoppers remain. As I turn back down the centralaisle to leave I see the MAC area full of excited youngshoppers. Opposite, the Ferragamo, Cartier and Bvlgariboutiques are all doing business, while outside each out-let there are bouquets of flowers, all celebrating a land-mark day in Japanese duty free.

Forget those modest days of yesteryear as Japanese travellersdid most of their duty free shopping abroad – partly becauseof the paucity of their own airport offer. 5th Avenue trulydoes see Japanese travel retail reach a New Stage. �

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