Can you describe the business processes of your operation?

We continue our activities in a 326m2 Schengen and 30m2 wine store at Skopje Airport in Macedonia and a 50m2 duty free store in Ohrid. In fact, we have a process that repeats every day, every week. It's like a constantly working machine where each member of our team strives to do their best to achieve our predetermined goals. In order for the products sold in the stores on the previous day to be put back on the shelves, the product order given by the category department to the logistics unit in the first hours of the morning, the products to be prepared by our logistics warehouse teammates and brought to the stores and to take their place on the shelves. Periodic orders of both international and local products. As this cycle continues, the support of the administrative staff to the store operations team is the number one priority for all of us. Because we know that the more we improve our service quality, the better shopping experience we can offer our passengers.

Who are you in contact with?

The operator of the airport TAV, Customs Directorate, Police, BTA, Prime Class and Havaş can be counted as the units with which we communicate the most locally.

Until today, you must have encountered many different events and situations operationally. What was the most interesting situation you encountered? How did you resolve it?

I can say that the pandemic period we experienced was the most interesting situation I encountered. I was leading Operation Riga, and it was a time of total obscurity. As a result of the restrictions imposed on the flights of our passengers in the first weeks and months, we could not make any sales for 3 months. We understand how difficult it is for a business that generates a large portion of its income through sales on a daily basis. Furthermore, and more importantly, we had to minimize the risks that would adversely affect the health of our crew and passengers. We decided to keep our store open for revenues outside the terminal building, where only airport personnel can shop, even though we could not get very large turnovers. We returned the local product stocks we had to the companies where we supplied these products. We have received additional time for the payments we need to make. In this process, we had meetings with the airport authority over commercial conditions. On the other hand, we took the necessary precautions for the health of our teammates. In addition to periodic information about how we should act in the fight against the epidemic, we have created standards that will provide minimum contact for both our passengers and our team when the stores are opened again. I think that we have survived this process, which has unpredictable results, in the best way for our company, our employees and our passengers.

How have there been recent changes in customer shopping habits and product-category based?

The Covid pandemic has changed many things in our lives, as well as affecting shopping habits at airports. In general, we observe that our passengers' per capita expenditures are increasing. Passenger expenditure per capita in Macedonia, which was 4.03 euros before the pandemic, increased by 38% to 5.58 euros after the pandemic. With the renovation of the Skopje Schengen store, this figure has now reached up to 6.50. In Macedonia, where cigarette sales are predominant, we also observe that the share of local products and perfume-cosmetic products in total sales has increased recently.

In 2022, we enlarged and renewed our store at Skopje Airport. What are your expectations for the new period with this investment?

With this renewal, where the store area has been expanded by around 20%, we have started to offer a shopping experience for our passengers with a much more modern store understanding. I can say that we have made a very fast start to 2023. In an environment where the number of passengers increased by 38% in the first 2 months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, we managed to increase our sales by 57.8%. This also means spending 14.3% more per passenger. We aim to bring this trend to better levels by the end of 2023.

Which countries do the most shoppers in your operation come from?

Turkey, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany are the top shopping destinations.

How many years have you been working at ATU? What did you gain from being a part of this structure?

I have been working at ATU for 12 years. During this time, I had the opportunity to meet people from different cultures and work together. It is also invaluable to experience the market dynamics of each country on the spot. I had the chance to apply what I learned from my managers and teams in my job.

How many people does your team consist of? Can you tell us a little about your team?

As ATU Macedonia, we have a very compact team. We are 53 people in total, 49 in Skopje and 4 in Ohrid. In addition to the store operation team of 40 people, there is a logistics/warehouse staff of 5 people and an administrative staff of 8 people.

What department or industry would you like to work in if you were not in this role?

Honestly, I'd like to be on the same position again. It is a passion for me to touch the lives of our teammates and customers with whom we work every day and to get the return of what can be done together with our team.