UK. Lagardère Travel Retail yesterday (2 November) unveiled the expanded Aelia Duty Free store at London City Airport. The Moodie Davitt Report was on location for the grand opening in the main departures lounge [look out for our follow-up Picture Gallery coming soon].
The 420sq m store, first opened to the public in June, features a blend of international brands and local businesses to highlight a distinctive Sense of Place.
London City Airport Chief Executive Officer Robert Sinclair told The Moodie Davitt Report, “The whole philosophy behind this store was to create something which is distinctively London. We are London’s most central airport – the only airport actually in London. And our whole Sense of Place and philosophy at the airport is to celebrate 21st century, modern London.
“Within our departure lounge, we’ve created a lane which allows our passengers to get very quickly from security through to the gate. The duty free store is open right across the lane. While it’s not a walk-through duty free store, it’s very accessible and close to the dwell areas.
“It’s a flagship store for Aelia and for us it is hopefully going to set the mood for passengers, whether they are flying for business or leisure.”
The Aelia Duty Free store is a testament to the long-lasting partnership between airport and retailer, Lagardère Travel Retail UK & Ireland Managing Director Marion Engelhard told us. “We’ve been working with the airport since 2011. Thanks to that, when you start a new project, it’s more about building on a common vision,” she said.
“London City Airport has their own vision of the airport and we have our DNA, but we’ve put that together to create a common vision. This is not always possible – or at least not early on in a project.”
‘A real Sense of Place’
The Aelia Duty Free store strives to create a genuine Sense of Place to cater to the needs of London City Airport’s diverse clientele.
London City Airport Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Hodges remarked: “Our customers really value the speed with which they can reach the airport, travel through the airport and experience it.
“We have really tried to note and match the east London location that we have – to make the offer in our new duty free store relevant to the location that we’re in – particularly to match the needs of our customers.”
London City Airport Commercial Director Tim Ward added: “It is a fantastic new store that has seen a significant increase in space which allowed us to bring some amazing new brands and expand brands that we already have.
“It has brought an engaging open layout that really focuses on both our business and the growing leisure traffic at London City Airport.
“One of the key bits is how we create a real Sense of Place at the airport for our London and international travellers. That has been strongly delivered through its design and the brands that we have from across London, as well as big global brands which are so important for our passengers.
“In my experience, it’s rare to see the real feel of Sense of Place – both through the product and through the design of the store – creating such an engaging environment. I think that can only be achieved through a really strong partnership.”
The store’s design and layout are intended to immerse travellers in a shopping experience that allows smaller brands to stand out. Earlier the store was in a 290sq m space, but now the façade has been extended and the store widened to ease and enhance the passenger’s experience. The entrance is optimised and the flooring flows well with the main departure walkway.
Engelhard said, “We’ve designed the space to be more than just a shopping destination, trying to immerse our travellers in a distinctive moment where brands can express their narratives.”
She also highlighted some key innovations. “We’ve been developing the digital ‘What’s Your Whisky’ wall with the Diageo Global Travel team. The ambition was to do things a bit differently: from traditional, conventional classification of whisky to an approach that is based on the taste of our customers.”
Travellers can walk up to the ‘What’s Your Whisky’ screen and take part in a quiz to discover their palate for spirits. This tool helps category newcomers find a suitable recommendation, at the same time encouraging enthusiasts to experiment with different flavour profiles.
Engelhard continued, “The second highlight we created is a new feature that is exclusive to London City Airport which we call the ‘Lounge Pad’. It is right at the entrance and it enables a premium location for perfumes, aiming to highlight new brands or a niche offer that does not always have a space in airports.
“Usually in perfumes you have set brands. It’s a bit more difficult to create and change the offers throughout time and give a premium location to a business that not necessarily everybody knows – brands that are a bit more niche.”
The brand podiums are built in and will not be modified, but the brands can be changed. Engelhard told The Moodie Davitt Report: “The idea was to do that every six months, for several reasons. First, it showcases niche brands which might not have the biggest market share but are important for our passengers.
“And secondly, we have a lot of frequent flyers as our traffic is still 50% business travellers. So if you’ve been traveling here, for example three to six times a year, it’s nice to see something different.
“It’s about having some exclusivity and expensive products, but with a price point for every traveller because that’s our job. In travel retail, you need to make sure you cover every customer’s need.
“The 360-degree space presents a dynamic offer and introduces smaller brands from across London. This is also the space where we promote our sustainable brands.”
The digital screens in the store highlight both the store’s luxury offerings and the stories behind the local brands featured. Engelhard said, “Those brands require more explanation, a bit of the story. Sometimes we have QR codes that customers can scan to learn more and we also make sure our staff is trained to answer questions about the brands.”
Curating the shopper’s experience
Representatives from Whittard of Chelsea, Ian Macleod Distillers, Sustainaholics, Earl of East, Dr Barbara Sturm and Creed among others were present at the event to talk about their brands and the journey with Lagardère Travel Retail.
The House of Creed Travel Retail UK Business Manager Kirsty Read said, “Creed has been here [at Aelia] for five months now and the sales have been exceptional.”
Ian Macleod Distillers Business Development Manager Travel Retail Mark Robinson talked about the Scottish distillery’s offerings and its distinctive triple distillation and worm tubs condensation process.
He also highlighted a key offering that is currently available at Aelia: “Every couple of years, over the next ten years or so, we will release a travel retail-exclusive edition of Rosebank. The bottle in the Aelia Duty Free store is release two.” The recommended retail price of the 32-year-old Rosebank Vintage Series Second Edition is £3,900 (US$4,750).
Engelhard shared an example to highlight the endless aisle concept at Aelia that allows travellers to request a product prior to flying. She said, “One of the most expensive Rosebank bottles was sold through online pre-order. Notably for those extruded products if a passenger says, ‘I would like this product’, and they’re flying again the month or week after, we just make it happen.
“We have a Click & Collect website that allows travellers to understand what brands are available. About 80% of our offerings are online.”
Whittard of Chelsea, known for its tea, coffee and hot chocolate ranges, is available in travel retail at both London City and London Gatwick airports. Its Christmas special range is currently showcased at Aelia Duty Free.
Whittard of Chelsea Sales Manager for UK and Europe Alice Bugliani said: “Our purpose is to make every moment special for our customers. We have an international presence, and we work with great partners around the globe – we are in over 40 markets.
“Most importantly for travel retail, we do gifts within the tea, coffee and hot chocolate categories. Passengers want something to take with them and give away.”
A glimpse into the future
Lagardere Travel Retail shared a positive outlook on the performance of the refurbished store. Engelhard said: “In terms of trade we are ahead of expectations, which is great. And we know that the traffic is still recovering so we are quite optimistic about the actual trade numbers for the shop.
“In retail, it’s a never-ending story. In the same way that we change brands, we are also learning from the first few months and adapting. You can always shuffle your offer to make sure you stay on trend.”
Sinclair talked to The Moodie Davitt Report about the current footfall at London City Airport and expectations going into 2024: “Football is recovering. Obviously as a business airport our recovery has been a little bit slower because of the pace of business recovery compared to leisure travel. But we are at 70% of 2019 levels at the moment and we’re looking forward to further growth in 2024 as the market consolidates and as the London market becomes a bit more constrained.
“We’ve certainly used the opportunity in the last few years at London City to upgrade everything that we have here in terms of some of our capacity and infrastructure: aircraft stands, parallel taxiways, immigration facilities, and most importantly the new departure lounge.
“We’ve worked closely with Aelia, WHSmith, SSP Group and some of our other major concessionaires to do a full upgrade and refresh of the departure lounge. Most of it is going to be completed before Christmas.”
This includes upgrades to the airport’s toilet facilities as well as security. London City prides itself on speed and convenience and its the first major airport in the UK to deploy CT security scanners that don’t require travellers to take out electronics, liquids and such from their bags. “This makes the whole security experience much quicker and stress free,” noted Sinclair. ✈
