Changi Airport watches tender sees

Transcription

1 TENDER ANALYSIS Changi Airport October 2004 Changi Airport watches tender sees time-honoured showdown Watches concession at Singapore Changi Airport terminal two - analysis of a bid Concession A Bidders Bid WINNER: DFS Venture Singapore Gassan Diamonds Richburgh Holdings Concession B Bidders 10% of total monthly gross sales OR MMG of S$495,888 per month; PLUS 20% of gross monthly sales exceeding S$1,900,000 per month, whichever is higher. 10% of total monthly gross sales OR MMG of S$394,000 per month; PLUS 30% of incremental sales from S$1,400,001 per month to S$1,600,000 per month; PLUS 32% of incremental sales above S$1,600,000 per month. Additional rental of either 10% of total monthly gross sales OR MMG of S$475,000 per month in year one; S$495,000 per month in year two; and S$515,000 per month in year three, whichever is higher. Bid WINNER: DFS Venture Singapore Gassan Diamonds Sincere Watch Duty Free 10% of total monthly gross sales OR MMG of S$284,888 per month; PLUS 20% of gross monthly sales exceeding S$1,300,000 per month, whichever is higher. 10% of total monthly gross sales OR MMG of S$256,000 per month; PLUS 30% of incremental sales from S$950,001 per month to S$1,200,000 per month; PLUS 31.5% of incremental sales above S$1,200,000 per month. Additional rental of either 10% of total monthly gross sales OR MMG of S$260,000 per month in year one; S$270,000 per month in year two; and S$280,000 per month in year three, whichever is higher. Source: The Moodie Report; Industry sources 16 The Moodie Report

2 October 2004 TENDER ANALYSIS Changi Airport he recent open tenders for the two watches concessions at Singapore Changi Airport terminal two were among the most hotly-contested in a spate of bids conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) this year. Four protagonists the two incumbents, DFS Venture Singapore and Gassan Diamonds, and two related others, Richburgh Holdings and Sincere Watch Duty Free battled for the considerable spoils on offer at Changi in one of the airport s most well-performing categories. Extra spice was added to the tender by the result of the controversial T1 bid earlier in the year, when an ultraaggressive bid by Sincere, a powerful force in the Singapore local market as well as the airport arena, headed off a very disappointed DFS. The latter was determined not to let a second prize slip from its hands. The Moodie Report Publisher Martin Moodie analyses what happened next. In the end it must have been a desperately close-run thing. The bid for the two watches contracts on offer at Singapore Changi Airport terminal two was a predictably tough fight, with DFS determined to hold and hopefully extend turnover of S$1.5 million turnover of S$1.7 million turnover of S$2.0 million S$495,888 S$495,888 S$515,888 S$423,999 S$485,999 S$581,999 S$475,000 in year one rising to S$515,000 in year three S$475,000 in year one rising to S$515,000 in year three S$475,000 in year one rising to S$515,000 in year three turnover of S$1.0 million turnover of S$1.4 million turnover of S$1.6 million S$284,888 S$304,888 S$344,888 S$270,999 S$393,999 S$456,999 S$260,000 in year one rising to S$280,000 in year three S$260,000 in year one rising to S$280,000 in year three S$260,000 in year one rising to S$280,000 in year three The Moodie Report 17

3 TENDER ANALYSIS Changi Airport October 2004 Understated delight: DFS remains committed to developing and improving its airport speciality store business and is pleased to continue its long-standing relationship at Changi DFS Group Chairman and CEO Ed Brennan its presence and Dutch company Gassan Diamonds equally set upon a second term in office. At stake were two concessions in very different locations. The respective bid levels reflected the quality of the locations and to no-one s surprise DFS retained its concession A foothold, which has been extended by the addition of a further 35sq m stand-alone store for Omega, currently red-hot in Asia and further boosted by its popularity with the higher-spending mainland Chinese. For concession 'A' DFS Venture Singapore bid 10% of total monthly gross sales OR an MMG of S$495,888 per month; PLUS 20% of gross monthly sales exceeding S$1,900,000 per month (on exchange rates at presstime US$1,130,000) whichever is higher. With its MMG well ahead of rivals Gassan Diamonds and Richburgh Holdings, the DFS bid represented the best result to the CAAS of the three bids based on current sales levels and likely growth. It is difficult to estimate the likely value of the contract as it involves additional stand-alone space. Current sales are likely to be over S$1.0 million a month (US$595,000) and the standalone store, depending on the offer, could generate around S$300, ,000 more. But things were a whole lot tighter in concession B, where at early to mid 2004 levels of business undisclosed but The Moodie Report estimates in the region of S$900,000 (US$535,000) a month, the DFS bid offers the better return. But as sales rise to S$1.1 million and to S$1.2 million, a range which Gassan described as a realistic possibility, the Dutch company s offer looks the more attractive in isolated financial terms at least. The CAAS, which often likes to split multi-concessions between rivals, would have made its calculations based on estimating the likely growth in the business and its resultant returns to the authority. That decision ultimately favoured DFS but riled Gassan Chairman and Managing Director Benno Leeser. Leeser claimed the decision had put too much emphasis on the monetary offer and not enough on retailing quality. He said the loss of the contract was really disappointing in terms of the investment and innovation that the company had brought to the business over the past five years. Gassan originally won the contract for a three-year period in 1999, which was subsequently extended for a further two years. We have had fantastic comments from our suppliers regarding the great service we offered, said Leeser. "We brought in four new boutiques from Breitling, Chopard, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Corum and we had excellent performances from all the leading brands. Everything was built around quality. It just appears that the authority was only interested in the money [DFS offered a higher basic minimum guarantee: see table on pages Ed] but actually the numbers were close and if business was good, we would be paying more. 18 The Moodie Report

4 S w i s s m a d e - w w w. l o n g i n e s. c o m - P a r a m o u n t P i c t u r e s C o r p o r a t i o n L o n g i n e s s u p p o r t s t h e A u d r e y H e p b u r n C h i l d r e n s F u n d L o n g i n e s e v i d e n z a

5 TENDER ANALYSIS Changi Airport October 2004 DFS, as is its wont, said little. With more than a touch of understatement Chairman and CEO Ed Brennan told The Moodie Report: "DFS remains committed to developing and improving its airport speciality store business and is pleased to continue its long-standing relationship at Changi." Gassan s disappointment was understandable. Since it made its Changi debut in 1999, the company has invested heavily in a retail location a long way away from home and delivered some impressive results. It has also been responsible for a great deal of innovation, introducing the mini-boutique concept for the first time in watches at Changi. In short, it had done much right and little wrong. But in the tough, sometimes brutal world of tendering, that is not always enough and DFS has certainly had its fair share of tough decisions in the past. Supplier reaction to the results has been mixed. As always, their sentiment depends to a great degree upon their relationship with the retailer concerned. Most felt that the bid levels impressively transparent from the CAAS left the decision too close to call. Inevitably, the CAAS could not please everyone. And to be fair to the authority, it has highly-intelligent management who do care deeply about the airport's retail reputation. Common consensus is that DFS will focus on giving more space to a smaller number of brands. Gassan tends to offer a much wider range of brands. There s not much difference in the money, and I m sure all the retailers would have submitted an original concept, said one supplier. Because the money level was not so far apart, the quality side must have been factored in. One of Asia Pacific s most experienced duty free retailers added: Having looked closely at the numbers again, I ve reached an inescapable conclusion that Gassan just weren t confident enough of their sales performance. If they were, they could comfortably have bid 30% of S$1million per month and won easily on both the guarantee and the subjective upside. If they weren t confident, why should CAAS be? Sometimes the detail overlooks the bigger picture. Remember that Gassan has little presence or influence in China whereas DFS does and increasingly. The Moodie Report understands that the S$900,000 turnover level relates to an average of the first four months sales at the Gassan store in Travel and spend has picked up since then and most suppliers concur that turnover will rise accordingly in the space occupied by Gassan when the new contract begins in October. The question is by how much. And the great unknown the results of both parties would not necessarily have been similar, a point well made by one of the trade s most senior suppliers. Sometimes the detail overlooks the bigger picture. Remember that Gassan has little presence or influence in China whereas DFS does and increasingly, he said. What the CAAS probably saw was the amount that DFS will invest in tour operators to route the Chinese to and via Singapore. Things go in cycles, and as masterful as DFS were in directing the Japanese into Hawaii and Guam, they will do the same with the Chinese in Asia and elsewhere you can bet on that. It s a simple equation: consumers in airports/markets = potential sales. How you get them there is just as important as how you get them to spend. Here is where DFS rules. One leading airport authority executive told us: I suppose Changi [authority] would be in the best position to choose, having lived with both operators and having their passenger forecast and the conversion rate for each operator. Gassan occupied around 180sq m of space, much more than in the store currently held by DFS in the other T2 location. But it is in a much less advantageous location. Some suppliers contacted by The Moodie Report were more critical of the delay in announcing the decision rather than the result itself. The award was made on 21 August yet the contract began on 12 October leaving precious little time for the expensive refittings certain to be required, plus the likelihood of the shops being closed for days or even weeks. To its credit, as we went to press DFS was due to open on schedule. Perhaps for this concession more than most, it is important to be on time. 20 The Moodie Report

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