The next time you fly through Raleigh-Durham International Airport, how would you like to see a lineup of nationally renowned shops selling their products at normal, everyday prices?
The airport authority plans to implement just such a program, beginning in December 2000. RDU intends to introduce a new and varied mix of both national and regional concessions and retail shops while also developing a "street price" policy, said RDU Business Development Officer Ingrid Hairston. Under this policy, goods would be priced at normal community levels, instead of the usual inflated airport prices.
Since 1995, the total number of passengers going through the airport has increased from 5.9 million per year to a projected 8.2 million this year, giving the airport more potential to introduce new services.
"Our passenger base has grown so significantly in the past five or 10 years that we're able, as an airport, to attract both some national vendors and the kind of regional vendors that we want and our customers deserve," Hairston said.
Although the new initiative should bring in several national chains, the airport also wants to retain some local merchants.
"A lot of airport concessions are starting to look exactly alike," said Ann Ferraguto, a senior associate for Leigh Fisher Associates, the consulting firm which suggested these changes. "It's important to have local tenants at the airport as well so that when people land at the airport, they know they're in Raleigh, North Carolina."
Rather than targeting specific companies, RDU will decide the kinds of products it wants to offer, then choose the best vendor-either regional or national-after a bidding process, Hairston said. She would not name any specific companies as examples.
Bidding is already underway because most of the existing rental contracts expire on Dec. 31, 2000. Changes should take effect by January 2002, at the latest.
RDU will almost double its concessions and retail spaces by expanding further into Terminal C. Additional room will be made by reassigning some spaces currently in use. Hairston said current vendors will be given equal chance to bid for spots.
The street pricing program, however, could take slightly longer to implement. While many airports set price limits at 5 to 10 percent above street prices, RDU has more ambitious plans.
"[This is] a pretty broad change in position, but our customer base has grown so much that we can," Hairston said. She added that these regulations would be enforced more strictly than in the past.
Ferraguto said she thinks the pricing change will be beneficial for the airport as well as for customers.
"We've found that airports offering street pricing have higher customer satisfaction and higher sales," she said. "If you give customers what they want, sales will go up."
Although many vendors do tend to set prices higher in the airport than in the community, some are not overly concerned about the effects of the price reductions.
"[The airport officials are] not going to do anything that would hurt anybody.... We trust what they do," said Patrick Ford, an owner of the North Carolina Store.
Ford said he is also optimistic about the proposed introduction of nationally recognized stores. "I think that'll help us," he said. "I think there's enough room for everybody."
On the other hand, Alan Cason, vice president of the Toy Terminal, said he thinks that bringing in too many national chains is not a good idea.
"I think it'll be a big mistake," Cason said. "A mall is a mall. I don't think an airport should be a mall."
Airport officials do not necessarily expect that these changes will attract more customers to the airport, nor is that their objective. Rather, Hairston said, "We're trying to give our customers what they want-that's our goal."
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