Groupe ADP
Extime (I) – Opening a new chapter for airport retail and hospitality in Paris
The Moodie Davitt Report visited Paris for the inauguration of a landmark concept – Extime – that will become the signature of Groupe ADP hospitality and commercial activities in Paris and around the world. By Dermot Davitt and Hannah Tan-Gillies.
On 2 February Groupe ADP presented its vision for the future of airport retail and hospitality as its new ‘Extime’ concept came vibrantly to life at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1.
As we reported in our location coverage from Paris, the space from shopping to boarding lounges is not just a flagship for the group but a shining example of how airports can blend consumer-friendly and high-performing commercial spaces.
The 1,300sq m beauty arena is akin to a department store layout and a big highlight of the T1 space
ADP’s ‘boutique terminal’ concept was likened to “a hotel where your guests don’t sleep” by Chairman and CEO Augustin de Romanet. It neatly blends human and digital elements and houses impressive brand executions across beauty, luxury, gastronomy, wines & spirits and more in the new-look T1.
The retail zone takes what ADP did with its partners at CDG Hall 2K previously to much acclaim and adds a new layer of surprise. The high vaulted ceiling of the central area is breathtaking, the great beauty brands at its heart elegantly presented, the double-fronted heights of the luxury boutiques eye-catchingly impressive.
Watch our video highlights from the official launch as filmed by The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies
Each boutique terminal (Paris CDG in its entirety will be updated to Extime branding this year) features its own look and feel – hardly surprising as each is reimagined by a different designer. Yet each is also unmistakably Parisian, with clever, quirky features to arouse the curiosity of visitors. In the boarding gate zone in T1, you see it in Maxime Liautard and Hugo Toro’s seating, lighting and 1930s style décor. At T2G, it’s evident in Dorothée Meilichzon’s subtle aviation touches and use of old aircraft parts.
The spaces are not just for show but are convenient too – a plug in every seat, not just dotted sparingly around; a TV theatre in the boarding lounge in T1, a quiet room for babies to sleep along the main walkway to gates. Most of all, the maximum six minutes walking time from security to gate give the spaces human scale.
A terminal with human scale: Paris CDG T1 offers many memorable spaces and fresh experiences
Mathieu Daubert on the spirit of a boutique hotel at Paris CDG T1
Extime Duty Free's Guy Bodescot talks digital and pricing at CDG T1
Groupe ADP Chief Customer Officer Mathieu Daubert told The Moodie Davitt Report: “T1 is our first ‘Boutique Terminal’ and really a flagship. The idea is to create a new global venue for retail and hospitality. We hope this will be a new standard for travel retail at airports.”
The Extime concept originated as ADP sought to alleviate the stress that many travellers experience at the airport. On the one hand, many fear missing their flights. On the other, there is an opportunity created by the moment of relaxation that occurs once they are past the check-in and security, which ADP refers to as the “out-of-time cocoon”.
The promise, Daubert said, is “to make our network of airports be the preferred destination for all travellers”. Within airside retail, this translates as developing “territories of experience and emotion” around the Extime brand.
The collection of boutique terminals comes in three types: Lifestyle (targeting mainly low-cost airline travellers), Premium (for international clientele looking for luxury brands) and Exclusive (a VIP experience).
These terminals aim to match the spirit of a chain of boutique hotels, featuring retail and hospitality champions under the Extime Duty Free, Extime Food & Beverage, Extime Media and Extime Lounge brands.
The businesses under the Extime Paris umbrella are managed through a series of agreements with preferred partners: Lagardère Travel Retail (Extime Duty Free, owned 51% by ADP), JCDecaux (Extime Media, 50:50 owned), SSP (Extime Food & Beverage, 50:50 owned) and TAV Operation Services (Extime Lounge, 51% TAV).
Gateway to a new world: The entrance to Extime Duty Free in T1
Daubert said: “Extime is a new brand for retail and hospitality aimed at transforming global airside zones into venues. It takes inspiration from a boutique hotel and the first thing you need at a boutique hotel is human size and scale, ensuring you don’t introduce any pain to the traveller experience. So for us that means good signage and it means taking no more than six minutes from security to the farthest boarding gate.
“Like a boutique hotel, each boutique terminal is quite different from one to the other but they will all share common values in design, service and product offering.”
CDG T1 sees the first of the Premium executions piloted, followed by CDG2 B/D for the Lifestyle format – to be completed later in February – with others to follow through 2023.
The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt and Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies at the Extime launch
The airside arena is led by over 1,300sq m of beauty, adjacent to a series of double fronted luxury boutiques, which in turn have entrances to the shopping zone on one side and gates on the other. A core category emporium leads on French wines & spirits and gastronomy, followed by confectionery, tobacco and electronics. Around 15% of the T1 offer comes from brands or products new to the location.
Extime’s physical locations will soon be complemented by a strong digital system made up of instant rewards and the marketplace extime.com, to launch in April. This has been devised as a one-stop e-shop where products and services sold by Extime can be booked with a single customer account and shopping basket.
Quality of service is also a central focus, with the recruitment of a team of ambassadors a vital element.
“As we want to create global venues, we want to have a strong culture of operations to make sure everything is coherent across all our locations,” said Daubert.
“Excellence in service is very important. All interactions with our staff have to be ambitious and coherent wherever you are.”
That service is enhanced by the introduction of a new people function, namely the Maître de Maison. Here, a chosen host working for ADP drives excellence and maintains service standards, mirroring the drive for excellence in the product offering.
The programme features 600 ambassadors in T1 alone, backed by an ambitious induction programme. The creation of a community is further enhanced by Campus Extime, which trains and services the needs of the certified partner operators of each branch of Extime.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine Issue 320 | 10 February 2023
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com