Gerry Cecci
Title: Regional Vice President/Airport Management, Westfield Concession Management
Age: 50
Experience: 28 years, including 18 with Westfield

Gerry Cecci is a regional vice president at Westfield Concession Management, the developer and manager of the concessions program at Boston Logan International Airport’s Terminal C.

Westfield recently added 12,000 square feet of new retail/restaurant space in Terminal C following completion of Massport’s $62 million renovation project, which consolidated two smaller checkpoints into one larger area and upgraded the terminal.
Cecci talked recently about the design, construction and leasing of the glitzy new retail/food and beverage area at Logan’s Terminal C.

Q: How is the space in the new Terminal C concessions area divided?

A: This space repositioned many of the retail Terminal C concessions from pre- to post-security; the majority of the space was allocated to retail. We took the opportunity to round out our food and beverage concessions by adding three units: Starbucks opened earlier this year, with Pinkberry and Legal Sea Foods slated to open in the next several weeks.

Q: What was the intent in the design of the concession area?

A: Westfield’s award-winning design team was responsible for creating the overall design concept and storefront design. The individual retail stores were designed by each tenant’s architect, with involvement and approval from the Westfield design team. For the new Terminal C concessions program, Westfield leveraged our world-class shopping center experience to recreate a shopping-center environment along Terminal C’s two corridors.

Westfield took careful care to ensure that the visual and storefront designs were reflective and complimentary to the terminal’s architecture, contemporary lines, low-profile portal and bold signage program. The storefronts were designed for maximum openness, transparency and visual access to bring travelers’ eyes into the store interiors, which highlight tenants’ products and merchandising … Westfield worked with each retailer to incorporate 3form material into the storefront portals … The storefronts were designed to pop through back-illumination of the portal material, to increase the visual impact of each store and draw from all directions.

Q: How were tenants lined up, and what tenant mix were you seeking?

A: Westfield’s goal in creating the tenant mix for Terminal C was to achieve a well-balanced program that met passenger needs and wants, and at the same time created a true sense of place by reinforcing and promoting the “Boston Experience.” … We sought to have a line-up that included a variety of iconic New England brands – including Vineyard Vines, with its first airport location; The Black Dog; Life is Good and New England Collections. National favorites include Swatch, Soundbalance and Hudson News. International brands include Be Relax Spa and iStore Boutique – their first location in the U.S. Our leasing team’s intent was to provide an outstanding variety of recognized specialty retail which resonates with our travelling public. We believe we have executed to that plan exceptionally well.

Q: How has airport terminal retail/restaurant leasing changed in the past decade or so? 

A: It has changed dramatically, and continues to evolve. Trends that have had an impact on the terminal retail/restaurant leasing have been driven by the need for more choices for passengers post-security. Prior to the completion of Massport’ s centralized checkpoint project in 2011, which now provides one access point to the gates and concessions in the terminal, Terminal C had two separate checkpoints – limiting the concession options for passengers. With the new checkpoint, passengers are now able to enjoy a much wider selection of cuisine and retail options post-security. Additional trends in airport retail/restaurants include the desire for more local concepts, the rise of celebrity-chef based restaurants, additional grab-and-go options and the rise of technology retail. Being able to keep up with these changes and trends has a direct impact on the success of a concessions program, resulting in higher passenger satisfaction and increased sales. 

Q: How do the rents per square foot in an airport compare with a more traditional retail space, like a shopping mall?

A: Space in an airport environment is limited, and store size is typically smaller, resulting in higher rents per square foot. However, productivity is very strong in relation to size. In airports, rents are typically based on sales projections and applicable percentage rates to determine what a concession operator is willing to offer on a space.