Autogrill Group awarded foodservice concession at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (North Carolina)

Through its American subsidiary HMSHost, Autogrill (Milan: AGL IM) has been awarded a foodservice concession at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina for ten years, from 2020 to 2030. The contract provides for continuation of business in the existing locations, which posted revenues of around $120m in 2015, and an improvement of the offering to achieve further growth in revenues over the contract term.

“We are very pleased with the signing of this contract with Charlotte-Douglas International Airport”said HMSHost President and CEO Steve Johnson. “Thanks to the strong partnership linking us, we’ve been able to open prize-winning restaurants with a unique culinary offering and excellent customer service which have put Charlotte Airport on the world map.”

With nearly 45 million passengers in 2015, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is the 6^th biggest airport in the world by number of flights (over 540,000 during last year). HMSHost provides a major part of the airport’s foodservice offering, with 43 points of sale, some of which are award-winning, including 1897 Market (judged “Best New Food & Beverage Concept” by both Airport Revenue News and Airports Council International – North America) and Dale Jr.’s Whisky River (voted “Best Airport Bar” by USA Today readers). HMSHost operates many other popular brands in the airport, including Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, Brookwood Farms BBQ, the prize-winning Beaudevin and Starbucks, North Carolina’s home brand and a world leader in the coffee segment, to name but a few.

In addition to the abovementioned awards, HMSHost was recently acclaimed as a benchmark operator in the travel foodservice market by Airport Revenue News, a trade paper, which judged it “2016 Best Overall Food & Beverage Operator” (for the ninth year running) and “Food Operator with the Highest Regard for Customer Service” (for the seventh year).