INTERNATIONAL. Lagardère Travel Retail today revealed a new concept, design and brand identity for its Relay travel essentials stores. The goal, said the retailer, is to allow for “greater in-store flexibility and agility” and “to increase the operational efficiency of stores”.
‘New generation’ Relay stores have already opened at Madrid Atocha station, Nantes Atlantique Airport and train station, Prague Airport (seven stores) and the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (four stores). The concept will continue its global roll-out in 2020 and 2021, with openings already planned in more than seven countries across several regions (the opening plan may vary depending on the health context).
Relay stores now feature a new graphic identity and store design. The concept is also flexible to allow for quick and simple adaptation of the store layout, merchandising and product offering. Dedicated spaces to showcase local products are also part of the concept, while a new check-out experience aims to make the shopper journey more “seamless”.
The Relay concept also features:
- New category universes, introduced to highlight the product offering with distinctive design and merchandising for each category. With flexible merchandising and layout, categories can be aligned to changing customer trends and passenger mix (for example during the crisis the focus has been on convenience products, less on gifts)
- The Relay red storefront has been enhanced with a grey banner to introduce partner brands
- Communication tools have also been integrated to support promotional offers and allow for product recommendation
- Digital communications have been included into the concept through store-front digital animation and in-store screens.
The updated brand positioning is ‘travel made special’, and is supported by the tagline ‘Relay. Make your journey more’, which is articulated around four pillars:
- One-stop shop. “Relay offers all the travel essentials travellers may need, all in one place.”
- Efficient and adaptable. “Relay offers a seamless, versatile experience for consumers and businesses alike.”
- Cultural awareness. “With a current, daily stream of trend and culture-related content, culture is a central component of Relay’s DNA.”
- Global presence. “As a multi-channel, multi-market travel retail brand, Relay is for travellers everywhere, at every point in their journeys.”
To reinforce its CSR commitments, Relay also encourages responsible and safe travel via a responsible offer, the encouragement of better consumption and the introduction of ‘localness’ into product ranges.
Lagardère Travel Retail Chief Business Officer Lucio Rossetto said: “Relay is a well-known brand to travellers throughout the world, and for many it’s where the travel really starts. To maintain this emotional connection between Relay and its customers and better keep up with their needs, we needed to evolve both the concept and the brand identity. With the new generation of Relay stores, we are further investing into a franchise, and a segment we believe in. Under the most challenging circumstances, Relay has demonstrated its great resilience and more importantly has managed to remain an important stop-over in passengers’ journeys.”
Of the three business lines Lagardère Travel Retail operates, travel essentials has demonstrated “the greatest resilience and the fastest recovery rate” amid crisis. This, said the company, is aided by its multi-channel nature (major footprint in rail, shopping centres as well as airports) and a multi-category offer that has benefited from other stores being closed during lockdowns, such as restaurants. In 2019, travel essentials represented €2.2 billion in sales, 41% of Lagardère Travel Retail’s total.
