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Issue link: http://airportbusiness.epubxp.com/i/818811
CONCESSIONS May 2017 airportbusiness 35 Irish bar located at Montreal-Elliott Trudeau International Airport. The Best New News & Gift Concept category is always interesting, because how many different ways can you present it? But airports rose to the challenge, giving us three strong winners. First place went to MSP Explore Afar at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. It's the first time the travel brand Afar has partnered with an airport, and it offers convenience and news in interactive zones with listening stations and interactive touch screens. It also boasts an eye-catching, two-story storefront that draws in custom- ers. Second place went to Texas Monthly at George Bush Intercontinental Airport for bringing a strong brand to the usual generic news-branded news stands and offering travelers a coffee bar that's open 24 hours a day. Third place went to Shady Lane, a unique upscale news stand with a forest theme at Houston Hobby Airport. Every year airports raise the bar for Best New Retail Concept, and this year was no exception. We chose the TUMI/ Swarovski store at Tampa International Airport because we were intrigued at how two seemingly disparate stores worked so well together. Second place went to the MAC make-up store at Houston Hobby and third went to Mountain Concierge at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, which also won the award for Best Innovative Consumer Experience Concept/Practice. The judges broke down the winners of the Best Retail Program category into small, medium and large airports. In the large category, we chose Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's Terminal 1 for showcasing 18 new retail stores (a mix of national and local brands) that opened between June 30, 2016, and November 30, 2016. Of the 18 stores, 16 are already surpass- ing their financial goals. Second place went to Baltimore- Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport's Concourse A/B program for its mix of familiar national brands and local brands unique to the Baltimore-D.C. area. In the medium airport category, first place went to Edmonton International Airport for its mix of national and Canadian brands including Indigo Spirit, which is helping cel- ebrate the country's 150th birthday with a special themed gift line to tempt travelers. There was no winner in the small category because there were no submissions. Every year, ACI-NA and I post guidelines to what makes a winning submission. The shame is that we had several poten- tially great entries that were rejected because the guidelines were ignored. So here are the tips, again. • Make sure you enter the correct category. We saw several entries that would have been strongly considered if they had been in the right one. • Concessionaires and airports should discuss submissions together before submitting them. • Restaurants and retail, please include a menu/sample list of items sold, a map of the location in the airport and professional photos of your food/goods. • Videos, published media stories/blog posts and social media comments go a long way in boosting a presentation. • Show us the money!! A big part of the judge's consideration is if the concept is making money. • Give us complete presentations that tell your story. If you're submitting in more than one category, create separate ones for each. • We need more submissions from medium, small and Canadian airports. Cost-efficient building sol Buildings provide attractive and affordable structures for: • hangars • flight based operations • cargo facilities • aircraft maintenance With our value-engineered steel framed building systems, recycled material content and long-life "cool paint" choices, p curb operating costs. Find out more. This free brochure is available at www.VP.com/a ueScope Buildings North America, Inc. On budget, on schedule, on target... www.aviationpros.com/10325502