Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Strange Nature gin from New Zealand celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere.
UK. Today’s photo selection comes courtesy of London Heathrow Airport. Alongside its partners, the airport company opened eight retail, dining and pop-up outlets in July, underlining the attraction of the UK gateway for concessionaires and brands as traffic recovers.
The company said it has been encouraged by the breadth of new experiences on offer to travellers, although performance continues to be held back by the government’s removal of VAT-free shopping in key categories such as luxury and beauty, as reported recently.
In Terminal 2, openings include a Starbucks in partnership with SSP, plus refreshed Paul Smith and Kurt Geiger stores. An enhanced luxury zone will feature Tiffany & Co., Hugo Boss and Burberry boutiques in the months ahead.
Also in T2, Puig brand Paco Rabanne launched a major pop-up as the launch destination worldwide for the new ‘Rabanne’ rebranding as it nears its 60th anniversary – the space offered Heathrow-exclusive fragrances and accessories.
In T3, Heathrow welcomed back British brand Mulberry via an engaging pop-up boutique. It marks a partial return for the brand, which had four stores at the airport before the pandemic and has not returned at scale, in part due to the removal of VAT-free pricing on luxury goods (see related news here).
In T4, Coty Travel Retail Europe partnered with Heathrow, Dufry and JCDecaux for the pre-launch of Burberry Goddess Eau de Parfum.
In T5, Diageo Global Travel recently unveiled its Tequila Don Julio 1942 for the first time in European travel retail in partnership with Dufry through a luxury installation, as reported.
Also in T5, an Estée Lauder media campaign showcased four brands – Tom Ford, Jo Malone, Kilian and Le Labo – as part of another ‘Quaternity’ partnership including Heathrow, Dufry and JCDecaux.
In F&B, as part of its enhanced service to travellers, Heathrow also introduced a Nero coffee cart in each of T2 and T5. Other service moves include the introduction of a Retail Feedback Form on the Airport Community App, enabling users to provide insights into retail and F&B operations.
Heathrow Retail Director Fraser Brown said: “As we successfully serve our busiest summer post-pandemic I am delighted to see the fruits of all our hard work come together with the opening of a number of fantastic new units across a broad range of categories.
“From an iconic new Starbucks with SSP in Terminal 2 to a plethora of pop-up Trinity activations in beauty and accessories, our passengers are getting an even better F&B and retail experience this summer.”
The airport company also highlighted its short-listing for four Frontier Awards (Best Airport for Retail, Team of the Year (King Charles III Coronation Celebration Retail Activation Team) and two Rising Stars in Chloe Dorman and Tom Diver) as well as one for Best Airport Commercial Promotion (Hacienda Patrón) in the Global Travel Retail Awards. Winners will be announced in Cannes in October.
*In other news, Heathrow today also reported strong July passenger traffic figures, with 7.6 million travellers flying in the month, up by +21% year-on-year. While this was still short of pre-pandemic numbers, it signalled a strong summer return, especially amid poor weather in the UK.
Over 73,000 passengers flew to Turkey in July, the busiest month ever for the destination. Departures to Gibraltar, Portugal and Italy have also all been close to record levels, said Heathrow. 
