Spine thickness?? - Delaware North

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Retail
The secret of Delaware North’s retail expertise
and experience is apparently out. At least that’s
the conclusion to be drawn from the impressive
list of brand names that have placed their trust in
Delaware North to manage their most important
retail locations or to introduce their retail brands
to the marketplace.
Both longtime sports journalism leader Sports
Illustrated and the Travel Channel, the only
television network devoted exclusively to travel
entertainment, enlisted Delaware North
Companies Travel Hospitality Services to help
them take their well-known media brands to the
retail sector.
Shortly before 2009, Delaware North opened
the first-ever Sports Illustrated store in Detroit
Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Shortly
thereafter, it was announced that Delaware North
won the exclusive right to develop and operate
Travel Channel stores in airports nationwide.
Then there is the growing list of major sports
franchises that has turned to Delaware North
Companies Sportservice to operate team-branded
retail stores – both at sports venues and in
additional locations such as shopping malls. Since
summer 2008, Sportservice has taken over retail
operations for the Buffalo Bills, Columbus Blue
Jackets, Minnesota Twins and Carolina Panthers.
Add to those new business at Red Bull Arena
and at New Meadowlands Stadium for the NFL’s
Giants and Jets, and it’s fair to say Delaware
North’s retail program is on a roll. Sportservice
already handles retail operations for the Boston
Bruins, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Cardinals and a
dozen other franchises.
Taking up space
A major company effort in 2009 involved
preparing a proposal that would convince
America’s space agency, NASA, that Delaware
North should continue operating Kennedy Space
Center Visitor Complex for the next 10-20
years. Included in the bid was a plan for the sales
and marketing of the largest collection of space
memorabilia in the world, a definite jewel in
Delaware North’s retail crown. As 2010 dawned,
the company received word that NASA indeed
wanted it to build on the success it has enjoyed
at the property since it was awarded its first
contract in 1995.
The right stuff
The ways people pack for trips and shop at airports
have changed significantly since the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and they continue to
evolve as travelers look for value and convenience.
Recognizing this, Delaware North Companies
Travel Hospitality Services developed an innovative
proprietary brand of airport convenience stores
called Everything ASAP. The stores have opened in
the Detroit, Minneapolis and Buffalo airports.
USA Today highlighted the stores and their focus on
providing customers with value and convenience
by offering full-size toiletries, cosmetics and overthe-counter
medications in addition to snacks and
souvenirs. The story noted that customers, many of
whom want to skip an extra trip to a convenience
store on the drive from the airport, are no longer
willing to pay premium prices for small quantities
of these items.
Pushing Pepsi
The thousands of retail coolers and shelves that
Delaware North Companies oversees at its various
operations now feature the broad spectrum of
beloved brand-name beverages and foods of
PepsiCo. That’s thanks to a seven-year, $95
million national agreement the companies signed
in January 2009.
It’s the first time in its nearly 100-year history
that Delaware North Companies has joined forces
with PepsiCo, coming in as one of the soft-drink
giant’s top-five accounts. The decision, which
came after a lengthy review process, was made
in part because of PepsiCo’s outstanding social
responsibility platform.
Among PepsiCo’s brands are: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi,
Mountain Dew and other carbonated drinks;
Gatorade sports drink; Tropicana juices; Aquafina
water; Frito-Lay snacks such as Lay’s and Doritos;
and Quaker breakfast and snack products.