Our daily feature celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns from the global aviation and travel retail sphere.
When we featured Louis Vuitton’s spectacular new store at Istanbul Airport as our Image of the Day in May 2019, shortly after it opened, we asked the question: Is this the most beautiful shop exterior in the travel retail world?
Having visited Istanbul several times since then, we can supplement that question by asking: Is this the most photographed store in travel retail?
I stood outside the store on Tuesday for about 20 minutes, observing the flow of travellers. For almost every second of that time there was a line of people dashing over to the eye-catching exterior for their own selfie or a photo taken by friends or family. That mirrors my experience on previous visits. Day or night, this store simply draws a crowd.
The location is a factor; Louis Vuitton sits at the heart of the concourse in one of the great luxury arenas at any airport worldwide, and can be seen as you come through passport control and security. Even when a new 1,000sq m fashion & accessories zone opens in coming days nearby (more on this soon), it will still be highly prominent due to its scale and height.
The strength of the Louis Vuitton brand is another factor of course, with a consumer connection that few other brands can match at the high end of the luxury goods world.
Beyond that, the rotating store exterior visuals capture the essence of Istanbul, with moving images of the waterfront, skyline and most popular tourist sites of this vibrant city. It’s a last memory for visitors to take away with them, courtesy of one of the world’s great luxury houses.
Louis Vuitton operates the store directly on a sublease from the Heinemann/Unifree Duty Free joint venture master concessionaire – and showed its commitment to the new airport by being one of the first luxury brands to open last year. Crucially, performance to date has been excellent, we understand, as Louis Vuitton delivers on its prime position for the airport, its own high expectations and for consumers too.
Footnote: Do you have photos or video you would like to share via one of The Moodie Davitt Report’s most popular features? Simply send them to Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com and Liam@MoodieDavittReport.com
Note: The annual Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards, FAB 2020, will be held in Istanbul on 23 and 24 June. Istanbul Airport will host the event, which will be a celebration not only of the best in international airport dining but also of Turkish cuisine and culture. FAB 2020 will be supported strongly by Tum & Ictur, the concessionaire managing 34,000sq m of food & beverage space at Istanbul Airport.
For details of the FAB Awards programme, just announced, click here.
