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Images of the Day

Images of the Day: Soul Origin steals the show at Auckland Airport

by Martin Moodie at Auckland Airport |

Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Duty Free Global from Ireland, celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere.

NEW ZEALAND. Today’s images come from Auckland Airport, New Zealand’s premier international and domestic gateway, writes Martin Moodie. They show the extensive specialist retail and food & beverage offer, with one F&B outlet standing out from the rest.

I snapped them on my iPhone on 15 September while flying out to Hong Kong International Airport.

Click here for my first selection, dedicated to Aelia Duty Free’s expansive walk-through store. ✈

Aelia Duty Free’s huge walk-through store offers the first airside shopping experience but there is plenty to follow in the form of specialist retail and an expansive food & beverage line-up

(Above and below) When German travel retailer Gebr. Heinemann opened these specialist stores in 2024, it was widely viewed as a precursor to a strong bid for the airport’s forthcoming duty-free concession. In the end, however, the company (deterred by the softening Chinese spend, in particular, and concerns over profitability) did not make an offer.

The famed DFS  ‘meatball’ logo will soon be a thing of the past in Auckland after the retailer announced its exit from the New Zealand and Australian markets earlier this year. Besides an airport presence (for years it held the duty-free concession), DFS has operated from the historic Custom House in the heart of Auckland’s Central Business District since 1997. The closure of that store, effective 30 September, reflects a profound shift in trading conditions. And the end of an era.

Auckland Airport offers an outstanding array of destination merchandise stores

Family-owned Whittaker’s chocolate is a Kiwi institution. Superb use of this wall space makes the boutique a magnet for airport shoppers.
Another New Zealand institution, the famed All Blacks rugby team, is brought to life in this standalone store operated by Lagardère Travel Retail. However, the team’s crushing 43-10 loss to the South African Springboks a few days earlier might have temporarily dampened demand. 
The Vantage Bar offers giant screen sports, a good range of food and drinks, and fantastic runway views

McDonald’s is a perennial favourite across the airport world and the Auckland Airport outlet, notable for the popularity of its digital ordering platform, is no exception
From fast food to a wellbeing-led offer in the alluring shape of Wondertree
A diverse range of cuisines is on offer, from Mexican (above) to Vietnamese (below)

Mid-morning on a Tuesday is not a peak period. But one F&B outlet, the outstanding Soul Origin, opened in late 2024 (a New Zealand debut for the Aussie brand) was consistently busy.
And no wonder, f0r this was as tantalisingly well-presented a fresh food offer as I have seen in an airport

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