OmniServ, which provides a range of services to airports, airlines and travel retail operators, has acquired Attitude Events, a provider of travel retail and customer service specialists in airports.
Attitude Events will become part of OmniServ’s Blackjack Promotions division, which focuses on airport retail and experiential marketing within the travel space. The move strengthens Blackjack’s travel retail presence and offering in airports across Europe.
Founded in 1999, Attitude Events delivers staffing solutions to the travel retail platform. The business currently works with clients including World Duty Free Group/Dufry, William Grants & Sons and Coty Prestige.
The news comes on the back of a hugely successful year 2015 which included the expansion of OmniServ and Blackjack into the Middle East. The company now has operations in Dubai Airport, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. In addition, the Airport Promotion Agencies (APA) network, of which Blackjack is a founding partner, has also been extended into new countries.
Sally Alington, Managing Director of Blackjack Promotions, says: “We are a dynamic and ambitious business, constantly focused on growth and expansion by providing elevated service levels and innovation for our clients. Over the last 12 months, we have seen consolidation in our industry with the acquisitions of P&G by Coty [Coty bought P&G’s global salon professional hair care and colour, retail hair colour, cosmetics and fine fragrance businesses, along with selected hair styling brands] and World Duty Free Group by Dufry.”
Alington adds: “The travel retail industry is witnessing change and we must be able to match the demands of these bigger global clients by also consolidating, expanding and being able to offer solutions to them whenever and wherever they need. We are delighted to welcome the Attitude team to become part of this exciting journey.”
As a leading airport service contractor in the UK, serving over 15 airports, the acquisition strengthens OmniServ and Blackjack’s positions in Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.
Blackjack Promotions is the UK’s leading provider of specialist staffing solutions for travel retail and airport-related staffing (see picture) and a major provider of experiential solutions for specialist travel retail. Its has four core service: travel retail; customer service; experiential; and logistics. It also works closely with agency partners and media owners.
The company was founded in 1995 and acquired by OmniServ Limited, the European division of Air Serv Corporation in 2013.
