Autogrill renews its Atlanta Airport concession for a further 10 years

Milan, 17 May 2012 - Through its American subsidiary HMSHost, Autogrill (Milan: AGL IM) has renewed its food&beverage and retail services concessions agreement at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where the Group has operated since 1994. The company will carry on its f&b business for another ten years and its retail operations for another seven, which are together expected to produce total revenues in excess of 1.2 billion dollars over the total duration of the contracts.

The agreement covers 44 points of sale, 31 f&b and 13 retail, which are in Concourse C and the new Terminal where the airport’s international traffic is concentrated. The locations under renewal plus the other 35 retail stores HMSHost operates bring the total number of locations managed to 79.

The recently opened International Terminal is built to the standards of LEED Silver (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a certification of energy and environmental quality, and uses water and energy conservation systems and recycled and locally sourced construction materials. Innovations include electrical powering of aircraft on the ground, parking reserved for car-van sharing and ecological vehicles, rainwater treatment/recycling systems and extensive window area to maximize natural light supply.

Travellers will be able to use the “B4 YOU BOARD” service, a smartphone application developed exclusively by Autogrill through HMSHost. B4 YOU BOARD enables travellers to order a meal and pay for it in advance and pick it up in the restaurant or have it delivered to them at the boarding gate. Launched first at JFK in New York in 2011, the service is also available in the Minneapolis, Chicago O’Hare and Sacramento airports and will gradually be extended to other airports. The App can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Given its international traffic and high proportion of business passengers, the airport has become a showcase of innovation and the avant-garde. HMSHost has therefore introduced information & entertainment concepts like The Wall Street Journal and CNN International News, as well as stores like Touch Table offering all the latest developments from brands like Apple, Samsung and Blackberry.

The airport will feature concepts developed in partnership with well known chefs, from Lorena Garcia Tapas (of the eponymous Venezuelan chef) to Tony Morrow’s The Pecan and Chip Joyner’s The Real Chow Baby. The new offering will also focus on regional specialities, with exclusive concepts like The Varsity, an icon of local tradition and the world’s biggest drive-in restaurant. Other labels include Ecco, a restaurant with European cuisine ranked “Best New Restaurant in America” by Esquire magazine, and well known brands like Starbucks Coffee and French Meadow Bakery Café.
Retail labels: Kiehl’s and MAC Cosmetics in the beauty sector, and Sunglass Icon, Luxury Boutique and Clutch with prestige international clothing, accessories and jewellery brands.

Atlanta Airport has seen strong growth in international travellers since the end of the ‘90s (up 8.4% in 2011) and has become the world’s busiest airport, topping 90 million passengers . With the construction of the new Terminal in addition to the current Concourse E, the airport now has 40 international flight gates linking the capital of Georgia to over 80 destinations in 50 countries around the world.

Active in 111 airports in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, HMSHost operates in the top 20 airports in North America by passenger traffic.