April 20, 2017

USA. MarketPlace Logan LLC, a New England Development company, will manage the majority of retail and food & beverage concessions at Boston Logan International Airport.

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) board of directors voted for the authority to enter into a new ten-year contract with the Boston-based business, expected to begin in mid-2018.

The current master concessionaire is Airmall but Terminals A, B, C and E are managed under multiple concessions contracts. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was published in July 2016 to find new management.

Providing diverse offerings – both in product choice and price points – in retail and restaurant outlets was a priority in selecting a winning proposal.

Massport said showcasing the region’s culture and flavour was also an important concept that needed to be appropriately addressed in the winning proposal. A balance of local, regional, national and international retail and F&B brands was required for the successful bid, with healthy eating options a necessity.

The authority revealed that three strong proposals were submitted by some of the leading companies in the industry. The RFP process included strategic plans to encourage the creation of opportunities for disadvantaged business enterprises and minority-owned and women-owned organisations.

An internal committee was established for the RFP process. Ann Ferraguto from Air Projects acted as a concessions consultant and retired Supreme Court Justice Robert Cordy oversaw the project.

Massport CEO Thomas Glynn commented: “The management of the many concessionaires at Logan is a complex and, most importantly, customer-centric responsibility that deserves the intense and serious review process that has been undertaken in the past few months.

“Consolidating our concessions management under a singular contract with industry leader MarketPlace will ensure consistency, continuity and choice for the millions of passengers that travel through Logan every year.”

MarketPlace has more than 20 years of experience developing and managing airport concessions programmes in the US. Existing concessions include Philadelphia International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.

The company has also helped advance airport concessions programmes in New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and Seattle.

“We look forward to working with everyone at Massport and Logan to bring the very best in food and beverage and retail to the travelling public at our hometown airport”

New England Development Chairman Stephen Karp said: “As a Boston-based company, we are particularly excited about this opportunity to create a nationally recognised and award-winning concessions programme at Logan Airport that will transform customers’ perceptions, increase passenger satisfaction, maximise sales, and increase revenue to Massport.”

Massport sought a proposal that would address key challenges and opportunities outside of retail and F&B to ensure the authority and the wider community will be best served by the new business partner.

Bidders had to show how they will create opportunities to ensure labour needs and requirements are properly addressed and handled, as well as prove they can implement efficient systems for the arrival and distribution of goods to the airport.

MarketPlace Development President Paul McGinn remarked: “We look forward to working with everyone at Massport and Logan to bring the very best in food and beverage and retail to the travelling public at our hometown airport.”