SNCF Gares & Connexions has called on Elior’s expertise as a food services provider at transport hubs and a benchmark player in the French railway station market to help it roll out a modernization program at its sites. For Elior, this involves refashioning outlets and expanding the food services offerings at 14 stations across France: Paris Gare de Lyon (Hall 2), Toulouse, Lyon Part Dieu (Paul), Marseille, Dijon (Paul and Quick), Nancy, Nice, Lyon Perrache, Nîmes, Valence TGV, Nantes Sud, Angers, Saint Etienne and Narbonne.
Elior’s objective within the program is twofold: refurbish existing points of sale in order to enhance customers’ comfort and overall travel experience, and round out its offering by introducing new brands and spaces that will meet the needs and expectations of each and every railway passenger.
Work under the program will start as from 2016, notably at:
- Nice station, where Elior already operates a Paul outlet. Two new Elior banners will be introduced here: Agora – a new café-brasserie concept with a strong regional identity – and Deli&cia, a take-out concept which is already used by Elior in both Spain and the United States and offers "fast casual" products made on site.
- Valence TGV station, where Elior also already has an operating presence. Here, a new Paul outlet will replace the existing Pain Soleil et Cie point of sale.
Commenting on the partnership with Elior, Patrick Ropert, Chief Executive Officer of SNCF Gares & Connexions said: "Shops make our stations more lively, modern and practical places and help them blend into the city fabric. The railway station retail sector now represents over € billion and contributed €70 million to SNCF Gares & Connexions’ revenue in 2014. I am excited about the prospects of this partnership with Elior, which will enable us to leverage the opportunities presented by the retail boom that is currently taking place in railway stations