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Buoyed by a desire to bring immediate coverage of airport and store openings around the world, The Moodie Report’s carbon footprint has grown to Yeti-like dimensions over the past decade.
Yet in all that time we have only witnessed a handful of airport store concepts which really excite, which truly differentiate, which genuinely capture a Sense of Place, and which really engage with the consumer.
We think that The Nuance Group’s new Lindt boutique on level 2 of the revamped Airside Center at Zürich Airport deserves to join that list.
For aficionados this is travel retail’s equivalent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But instead of Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) taking a trip through the world’s greatest chocolate factory, here it’s Zürich’s travelling passengers who are transported into a world of delectable delight within the confines of one of Europe’s leading airports.
Like all the best chocolate shops (almost always only found downtown), this one just oozes taste in every sense of the word. It oozes elegance. And most of all it oozes indulgence.
Loose chocolates, packaged chocolates, gift-wrapped chocolates, souvenir chocolates. Cold ice cream, hot chocolate drinks. You name it, they’ve got it.
“It’s a chocolate luxury experience,” enthuses The Nuance Group CEO Andrea Belardini. “There are a lot of premium offers and it’s just beautiful.”
We agree. Unlike the main shop next door the Lindt boutique doesn’t benefit from the walk-through factor. Travellers have to find it. But they will. In fact they already have – during our short visit, custom was fast and spending frenetic. Maybe that was what Andrea meant by “beautiful”.
Delight your consumer and the rest will follow. Or to misquote the old adage, build the experience and they will come. Willy Wonka is probably flying into Zürich as we speak.
