Page 28 - November 2021

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Global restaurateur HMSHost is part of Autogrill S.p.A. –
the world’s largest provider of food and beverage services for
travellers and along with the rest of the Autogrill Group are
recognised industry leaders who create innovative dining locations
at airports worldwide. Here, RLI speaks with Walter Seib, CEO of
HMSHost International about the growth of the company and what its
next steps are.
The company was purchased by Autogrill in 1999 and today operates under two banners; one is HMSHost, which is utilised across North
America, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific, and then there is the Autogrill brand which is used especially in Southern Europe, in countries
such as Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Greece.
“Our HMSHost International brand operates around 560 stores in 19
countries,” explains Walter Seib, CEO of HMSHost International. “We are
predominantly positioned within airports, 41 in fact. We are then situated
in seven shopping mall and outlet centres and 33 train stations.”
In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the business had to
rethink their overall strategy to survive. The priority had to be
to preserve cash and save as many jobs as possible across the
multiple markets in which they operate. But as Seib highlights,
for a company that has been operating for as long as they
have (over 120 years), this is not the first crisis they have
had to manage and most likely it will not be the last.
As we move onto the topic of recent site openings,
it becomes evident that Walter and the team are
extremely proud of their work at Manchester Airport
Terminal 2, which went ahead and opened despite the
obstacles the pandemic presented and the development
includes five outlets, KFC, Wrapchic, VIT, their own
juice and health concept, Amber Alehouse and local
coffee concept Pot Kettle Black.
“Also in the past few months we extended our Schiphol
contract in the middle of the crisis. We have a long-term
partnership with them and as partners we need to work
together in good times and bad so to highlight this fact we
extended our partnership until 2036, an unusual move in the
industry but one that makes a bold statement and reinforces
the partnership,” Seib says.
Looking ahead, the company has recently signed a joint venture
NOVEMBER 2021 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL Pot Kettle Black, Manchester Airport, UK