29.10.2004
Restaurant remodelling makes for better results

The Danish Kitchen restaurant at Copenhagen Airport was refurbished just a few months ago, and the results are already to be seen very clearly, both in the interior decoration, the number of customers and the sales. The same trend is seen at the other airport restaurants.

It is no secret that the food tastes better when you eat at a nice-looking restaurant. Neither is it a secret that this increases the restaurant’s sales. But 40% sales growth just in the first few months after completion of a refurbishment project was a surprise to Centre Manager Kenneth Guldbjerg of Copenhagen Airports. The growth rate of 40% was generated by just one restaurant: Danish Kitchen. The restaurant reopened on 19 June after an extensive remodelling which gave Danish Kitchen a more airy and Scandinavian look. The restaurant is now more open and inviting, and a coffee bar has been added, all in an attempt to create a modern cafeteria.

Danish Kitchen is only one of the 17 SSP (Select Service Partner) restaurants at Copenhagen Airport to see the refurbishment project yielding positive results. The Salmon House and Gino’s Pasta now have more seats and partition walls and the suspended ceilings have been removed. The restaurants in the Terminal 3 departure area have also seen rising sales: both the Hans Christian Andersen restaurant and the Burger King are reporting respective year-on-year sales jumps of 15% and 23% after just a few changes. Some of this effect has rubbed off on the Hereford Beefstouw, even though no major changes have been made there this year. But there could also be other reasons for the growth, comments Guldbjerg:

"There is no doubt that this year’s refurbishment is an important factor, but there are other, new trends that contributed to the excellent results that have been achieved over such a short time. Low-cost flights are an important factor contributing to the growth. When people travel on low-cost flights, free inflight meals have been cut away, so passengers often choose to eat at the airport instead. In addition, we see a clear trend that passengers then decide to treat themselves, for instance to a good meal, since the ticket was so cheap. Also other airlines are choosing to cut down on meal services to keep costs down, and that is what we are seeing the effect of now.

”We are pleased to see that the refurbishment project has had a favourable impact on both sales and the number of restaurant guests, and not least on customer satisfaction. As an example, we saw a significant increase in customer satisfaction on almost all fronts following the domestic terminal refurbishment, and customer satisfaction is an important contributor to continuing growth and earnings in the longer term,” comments Sector Manager Kåre Find Nielsen of Select Service Partner.