Life at MAN - Alison Bailey, Senior Retail Operations Manager

Manchester Airport's two terminals are home to more than 50 shops, bars and restaurants, which between them have to cater for upwards of 31m passengers per year. More than 14,000 cups of coffee, 3,500 sandwiches, and 1,600 books or magazines are sold every single day. Passengers' tastes range from budget eats, to food on the go, to fine dining, and shopping habits equally varied.

For a small but dedicated team at Manchester Airport, managing the retail, food and drink offering in the terminals is a full-time job - bringing new brands in, looking at what is working and what isn't, ensuring the offering stays fresh and meets the needs of everyone from business class travellers to young families.

Alison Bailey, a Senior Retail Operations Manager, explains what goes into managing all of this - and also explains why a popular Middle East destination is at the top of her travel wishlist.

How long have you been working at Manchester Airport? 

Seven years at the end of April!

What does your job involve on a typical day? 

In nearly seven years, I don't think I have had two days the same to call them typical. Within the Retail Operations team, our role is to ensure the operational excellence of our retail partners and ensure they are offering our passengers the best experience possible and meeting all of their contractual obligations, therefore every day we are speaking to our partners about how we can support them and drive improvement. 

Across the team we walk the terminal floors daily checking our units (even at 4am) and speaking to our partners. In addition our days can include everything from addressing operational issues and logistics at our Consolidation Centre to the more glamorous side of the role such as menu tastings and ribbon cuttings to welcome our new units! 

How does the team go about selecting the brands and units that they'd like to see? 

The Retail Team is made up of two halves - Category Management and Operations. On the Category Management side, we keep in touch with what is popular in the market from restaurants and bars to retailers. When we have a vacant unit - or in the case of T2, a new development - the team will review the retail strategy, data, capacity and customer feedback to determine whether we need to prioritise bringing in a partner that can fill a particular niche, for example a coffee shop, retail unit or restaurant. 

From there, the team then go out to tender where our current partners and potential future partners submit their ideas and we begin the review and scoring process. Even once we have selected a partner and concept, the work doesn't stop there. Across the team we continually work with partners to develop design, menus, pricing and more to ensure we give the best for our passengers.

What is the most memorable thing you’ve worked on? 

I have two, and they are both for our new T2! The first is opening T2 West, the new extension to the terminal, in 2021. We were all still wearing masks and airlines were running reduced flight schedules due to the pandemic, but in spite of all those challenges, to stand back at 3am that day and see everything that so many people including our retail team and our retail partners had achieved was a memory I will never forget and a highlight in my career.

The second highlight is the first set of retail openings in T2 East in July last year, as part of the ongoing work to renovate the original building and bring it in line with the extension. This was my first big project where I was leading as a manager and to see my team pull together amongst all the challenges, alongside our Consolidation Centre partner GXO to achieve the first units opening was definitely a highlight, albeit a very tiring one!

What do you enjoy the most about working at the airport? 

That no two days are the same, every day there are new challenges and new things to celebrate, working with a wide range of different departments and talented individuals all with the same goal - delivering a great passenger experience. Oh…and of course the planes!

What kind of qualifications / skills are required for your role, and how did you get into this field? 

I did attend university and received my degree in Journalism, however throughout that time I worked in retail and developed my passion. From there I worked my way through management levels to Retail Operations Manager in High Street retail before moving to the airport. When I attended college and university there were no courses devoted to Retail, however skip ahead a few years and there are more opportunities which is great to see. 

A specific qualification is, however, not essential to get your foot in the door. A career in retail can open so many doors as no matter where you are, whether it's on the shop floor or working in a senior position, you get to step into the worlds of HR, finance, people management, customer services and even creative duties such as visual merchandising every day. If you put the hard work into retail it can help you climb to the top and beyond!

What one piece of advice would you give to someone considering a career at the airport? 

Whether this is your first ever job, or you are moving from a high street role to the airport I always advise people to 'absorb the airport' - its a complex area to work in that takes time to understand. So any experience you have prior, lock it away in your brain for now, learn the airport and then bring your experience and the reason why you entered the role into your day-to-day.

What do you like to do when you're not at work? 

I bought a house just under a year ago so spend a lot of time working on that, but when I am not covered in paint - walks, swimming, spending time with loved ones and travelling when I can. Oh and of course watching some good old reality TV like the Traitors.

Which destination that we fly to do you most want to visit?

For the plane - Dubai - I have never been on an A380 and have always wanted to go on one! For the destination - Thailand or Singapore, I have been fortunate to have visited both twice before and would love to explore even more.