Dublin Airport's retail offering has shifted from duty-free alcohol and tobacco, and its new wave of retailers are trading well, writes Claire Shoesmith

Business has never been busier for Angie O'Keefe, manager of Wrights of Howth at Dublin Airport. "We've been here for 18 years and this year's the busiest we've seen," she says, dodging the many customers milling around the shop to walk out onto the concourse, which is equally packed with travellers and therefore potential customers. "It seems every year is getting busier and busier and busier."

With record numbers of people passing through the airport - more than 20 million are expected this year - it's hardly surprising that the 20-plus retail outlets located in the so-called airside section of Dublin Airport are doing well.

According to Frank O'Connell, director of retail at the airport, the level of shopping in terms of volumes has never been better. In fact, the MAC make-up concession is the biggest selling MAC store in travel retail in Europe and the Middle East, while the Claire's Accessories outlet outsells most of the chain's other shops in the UK and Ireland.

Since the end of duty-free in 1999, retail trends at the airport have changed, according to O'Connell. While once upon a time the focus was alcohol and tobacco, it has now switched to cosmetics and perfumes, and in this area the airport is doing very well. "We can no longer compete in the area of alcohol, so we don't even try," he says. "Instead, people are starting to realise that we offer much better value in other areas."

While the improved security procedures at the airport have, according to O'Connell, speeded up the check-in process, they have also provided travellers with more time to spare between checking in and stepping onto their plane.

"Shopping has become part of the airport experience," he says, adding that the airport environment provides a captive audience for its shops unlike any normal mall or high street. As a result, the Dublin Airport Authority is able to charge shops a proportion of their revenue in rent.

Unlike in other locations where a shop would lease or rent a unit from the site's owner, at the airport the plots are offered as concessions and, the higher the individual outlet's margins, the higher rent they pay. Still, no one seems to be grumbling and the airport's own concessions aren't the only ones that are doing well - the retail division alone contributes about €300 million to the airport's turnover. According to Claire Miller, who works for Select Service Partner (SSP), a UK group that runs the catering outlets at the airport, the food court and other cafés and restaurants are doing a roaring trade.

"Things are extremely busy and a lot better than last year," she says, adding that sales have increased at all the outlets - the ones owned by SSP, such as Café Ritaza and the Corner Café, as well as O'Briens, which is operated as a franchise at the airport.

Things are also good for Mindwell, a group that offers chair massage on the airport concourse. "Business has just rocketed in the summer months," says owner Marissa Selman. In fact, Selman has had to take on extra staff to cater for the increased demand and estimates that each of her staff treat about 17 people a day, including some regulars who come back each time they are in the airport.

However, while no one would dispute the improving business trends within the airport, there has been one change, and that's a shift from late evening to early morning as the busiest times to capture this business. In fact, for Albert Okalo, manager of the Buff Shop shoeshine outlet on the main airside concourse, 6am is the busiest part of the day. "Our main customers are businessmen and a lot of them tend to travel early," says Okalo, who charges €5 for a standard shoeshine and €7 for a deluxe service.

He estimates that about 90 per cent of the group's customers are businessmen with the remainder being what he describes as roamers - stopping for a shoeshine just because they are passing and have some time to spare while they wait for their plane. The outlet is open from 6am until 9pm and is busy most of the day, according to Okalo.

However, the summer isn't quite so good as many of the businessmen are away and a lot of people wear sandals. "The rain helps us to have customers so things are best for us in the winter," says Okalo.

Louis Copeland, the tailor and menswear retailer, is also a beneficiary of the large number of business travellers that pass through Dublin Airport. While purchasing a suit from the airport may to some people hint at a lack of organisation on the part of the buyer, Amy Kenny, manager of the outlet, says this isn't necessarily the case. "We have quite a lot of businessmen who come and buy their clothes from us," she says, adding that while the outlet sells on average about 20 suits a month, shirts, ties and belts are its main business. "It's amazing how many people forget their tie or their belt," she says.

As for business, things are good, according to Kenny, though obviously not as good as in the chain's three shops in town because of the nature of what they are selling. However, suits are cheaper at the airport, even for those having to pay duty on their purchases.

So while in the most part, the increased retail activity can be attributed to the rising number of travellers passing through the airport, Wrights says it also has the airlines to thank for its ringing tills. "We are doing a roaring trade in sandwiches and water because the airlines have stopped serving food," says O'Keefe. The company only started selling picnic-type snacks three years ago and now the range, which includes filled sandwiches, salad boxes and sushi, is one of the shop's most popular products - even at 6am. "From the time we open the shutters things are busy," says O'Keefe. "There is no let up."

And this seems to be the theme of the airport's retail activities - it's currently planning an extension to the existing terminal, which will provide space for an additional 12 to 14 retail outlets.

Due to open in early 2008, the Dublin Airport Authority will shortly be looking for applications of interest in the concessions, according to O'Connell.

So while buying cheap spirits in duty-free may be a thing of the past, it seems that airport shopping is only just beginning to find its feet in Dublin.