30/06/2004
NAA Moves into Direct Operation of Airport Shops
Welcome People with Quality Service
NAA Moves into Direct Operation of Airport Shops
Welcome People with Quality Service
The new privatized NAA has shifted its focus on new business ventures and fired the first salvo on May 26 with the establishment of its subsidiary duty-free and retail outlet operating company, NAA Retailing Corporation The company began operating in July and plans to operate 30 shops by 2006 turning over JPY10 billion a year. The company’s General Affairs Manager, Masatoshi Uchida talks about NAA Retailing Corporation.
11 Shop Start
NAA created a department to prepare for its move into direct shop management one year ago in June 2003. There are great expectations of the new company, which will help expand Narita’s non-aeronautical revenue by operating its own duty-free and retail shops.
Initially the company will take over the duty-free boutiques and retail shops operated by affiliate company Narita Airport Promotion Foundation (8 shops) and the 2 retail shops operated by Narita Airport Business Co., Ltd. With the addition of a bookstore that will open at the end of July, the company will operate a total of 11 shops and expects to turnover JPY2.7 billion in its first fiscal year.
With the re-opening of the south wing in Terminal 1 in the summer of 2006 after the completion of reconstruction work, the company will gain approximately 15 more shos and bring its total to 30. The same year, NAA retailing expects to turnover JPY10 billion and become a powerful force in duty-free sales in Japan.
NAA Retailing Corporation is a joint venture with Japan Airport Terminal Co., Ltd., which teamed up with NAA to bring its expertise in duty-free operations. NAA currently holds 67% of the shares but plans to buy the remaining shares in five years time after it has acquired the skills needed to operate duty free stores.
Fa-So-La Brand
All of the shops operated by NAA retailing carry the brand name 党Fa-So-La媒: Fa-So-La Duty Free, Fa-So-La Bookstore. The Fa-So-La name comes from the second set of musical scales after Do-Re-Mi. We thought it was quite apt for expressing our move into a new business era and that people would readily identify it as being an NAA shop when they heard it. Staff uniforms were designed in a hot peach color that make them easily identifiable anywhere.
Importance of People
One of the most important points of management is customer service. As a member of the NAA group of companies, NAA Retailing aims for customer satisfaction with the ultimate goal of making Narita the world’s best airport, and it is also the public face of the new, privatized NAA. Because it is NAA’s first venture into a new business circle, all eyes are upon it and, therefore, the staff are committed to offering a high level of service. The key to this can be summed up in one word: 党People媒.
Shops are all about products and people. Naturally, a good product line up is important but so are the people offering those products. In taking over the shops of NAA’s affiliate companies, NAA Retailing also inherited the sales staff of those companies and the most important task now is to indoctrinate them with the corporate vision and philosophy and bring them on track
In time, the company plans to compile a service manual and with the expansion in 2006, its employees will increase from the original 90 to 300. Human resources are an important element and the company plans to recruit college graduates in 2006.
Expanding non-aeronautical revenue and improving customer services are both important tasks. Improving customer satisfaction in airport users will, as a result, increase revenue. The opening of the south wing in 2006 will in some sense be similar to a debut for the company and, therefore, it must prepare itself for that event. The company hopes to be the leading company at Narita Airport in product line up, service and shop presentation.
Profile
Narita Retailing Corporation
Location: Room 3017, North Wing, Terminal 1, Narita International Airport
Capital: JPY90 million
President: Takao Nagai
Employees: Approx. 90
Turnover Targets JPY2.7 billion in fiscal 2004; JPY10 billion in fiscal 2006
Business Activities: Duty free shop and retail shop operation.
Press the
BACK
on your browser toolbar to get back the previous page.
