 |
INTERNATIONAL. Lagardère Services’ travel retail division LS travel retail recorded total turnover of €2.3 billion in 2011, up by almost +8% on a like-for-like basis, the company said. In a statement, LS hailed the impact of its new group structure, which has seen the division of its travel retail business into three geographical zones – EMEA, ASPAC and North America – and three product segments: news, gifts & convenience (including Relay), duty free & luxury (including Aelia) and food services.
Announcing the results, Lagardère Services Chairman & CEO Dag Rasmussen said: “These figures demonstrate LS travel retail’s capacity to successfully deploy its international growth strategy in airports and railway and metro stations in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. This momentum, which implies an impeccable knowledge of landlords and local markets by means of our operational subsidiaries as well as the outstanding expertise of Aelia and our corporate teams, will help us continue to grow.”
 |
The Lagardère group comprises four branches, including Lagardère Services, whose sales (including distribution revenue) reached €3.72 billion last year. Of that total, travel retail accounted for €2.3 billion |
France
LS claimed to have enjoyed “excellent growth” in its home market, with Aelia’s duty free and luxury goods sales up by +10.4%. News, gifts and convenience sales, spearheaded by Relay, were up by nearly +6%.
The company cited its yearly highlights as the renewal of its joint venture agreement with Aéroports de Paris, and its extension to include a new partnership covering news & gifts. LS also took over The Nuance Group’s shares in the Paris Duty Free fashion business, giving the company a dominant position in Parisian airports.
Germany
LS travel retail EMEA’s subsidiary HDS Retail Deutschland now operates 84 outlets, 44 of which are in airports, and opened 7 new stores at Frankfurt airport last year. The company also won several concessions in the new Berlin Brandenburg airport, to open this summer.
Poland
 |
LS travel retail’s sales in Poland grew by +9.1% last year, driven by a +13% increase in duty free and fashion sales. The company, through subsidiary HDS Polska, runs a network of 606 stores in the country, many of them trading under the Relay and Inmedio brands. It has also expanded its food & beverage business under the Empik Café concept.
Czech Republic
Sales in the Czech Republic increased by +14.5% last year as LS consolidated its duty free business in Prague Ruzyne airport, acquired following the separate acquisitions of the retail activities of Czech Airlines and Unimex. The company’s duty free and luxury goods sales in the country grew by +53% in 2011. Highlights included the opening of a Salvatore Ferragamo store in Prague Ruzyne, the expansion of the Paul and Costa Coffee networks plus the acquisition of 22 outlets in the Prague Metro.
Romania and Bulgaria
Turnover in Romania and Bulgaria, where LS operates 185 stores, increased by nearly +20% last year. The group’s first Relay outlet at Sofia airport opened in 2011.
UK and Ireland
LS travel retail UK increased its revenue by +18% last year, boosted by the addition of the London City Airport concession and a Discover Glasgow store at Glasgow Airport. The company, which also runs the duty free concessions at London Luton and Belfast International airports, will open Relay outlets in two London rail stations this year.
North America
Despite the effect of poor weather in the northeast US in the early part of the year, LS insisted it had enjoyed an “optimistic year-end with good sales in Canadian airports”. “The new iStore concept allowed 6 new units to be created across Canada and has significant potential for growth in the USA,” the company said.
Regional highlights included the acquisition of several retail franchises at Dallas and Edmonton airports, and the opening of 3 stores at Montego Bay airport in Jamaica.
Asia Pacific
LS travel retail ASPAC completed the acquisition of 11 Whitcoulls bookstores in New Zealand last year, and also began operating the duty free concession at Nouméa airport in New Caledonia. News & books contracts were renewed in Perth T2 and Sydney T2, while new business at Singapore Changi included the Fashion Gallery store (which opened in late 2010), boutiques by Alfred Dunhill and Longchamp and the So Chocolate confectionery store in T1. The company recently won a new confectionery concession in Changi T3, and continues to run a number of news and books outlets in partnership with Times.
In mainland China, LS runs 67 points of sale under the Relay, Hub and Discover brand names in the Shanghai and Beijing railway stations, Shenzhen and Shanghai metros and at Kunming, Hongqiao and Xiamen airports.
LS travel retail is also present in Hong Kong (12 points of sale) and Taiwan (6 points of sale).
 |
LS travel retail ASPAC’s So Chocolate store at Changi T1 marked a first for the company |
Other new business
LS also noted the opening of four new stores at Budapest airport in Hungary, where the group runs a longstanding distribution business. In Spain, where LS is present through retailer and distributor SGEL, the company has opened new fashion outlets at Málaga and Alicante airports.
