QATAR. Qatar Duty Free (QDF) and luxury publisher Assouline have announced a landmark collaboration with the launch of a first Travel Series Kiosk at Hamad International Airport.
The innovative retail concept introduces Assouline’s colourful Travel Series collections to one of the world’s leading travel hubs.
Strategically located above Hamad International Airport’s Orchard, the Assouline Travel Series Kiosk is dressed in the brand’s signature red and anchored by oversized book spines from the Travel Series collection, each one a vivid destination rendered at monumental scale, creating what the partners said is “an unmistakeable landmark within the terminal”.
The range includes books, candles, totes and gifts inspired by the art of travel.
A statement said, “This imaginatively designed kiosk introduces Assouline’s world of luxury storytelling to the airport environment for the very first time, with an immersive store design inviting a sense of discovery.”
Qatar Duty Free said it “continues to redefine the expectations of travel retail by championing a space for world-first concepts and exclusive brand partnerships that cannot be found anywhere else. The debut of Assouline’s Travel Series Kiosk is a demonstration of this unwavering commitment to crafting a unique environment for passengers passing through Doha.”
Each product within the kiosk has been chosen to celebrate a sense of discovery, culture and elegance that resonates with explorers from around the world, the partners added.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Retail & Hospitality Officer Thabet Musleh said: “We are delighted to be working with Assouline to unveil the first Travel Series Kiosk concept. With its remarkable facade and inspiring travel collections inside, the store is designed to spark a sense of adventure with our passengers, while offering them another world-first concept to discover on their journey through Hamad International Airport.”
Assouline Co-Founder Prosper Assouline added: “The first time I was shown Hamad International Airport, I was dazzled: a city within a city that never sleeps, opening onto every destination in the world. Bringing our Travel Series Kiosk here felt inevitable. It is the very DNA of our Travel collection: to journey across the world without ever leaving home.”
Founded in Paris in 1994 by Prosper and Martine Assouline, Assouline has published over 2,000 titles in five main collections, along with special editions, home fragrances and library accessories. Assouline’s roster of collaborators includes many respected brands, artists, photographers, writers and designers. ✈
Comment: What an outstandingly impressive and culturally important collaboration this is, writes Martin Moodie.
The Assouline Travel Series Kiosk is far more than a thrillingly vibrant and colourful boutique; far more than a compellingly different addition to an already astonishingly well-ranged shopping offer.
It is, at its very essence, a warm and culturally enriching embrace of the worlds of culture, literature, storytelling and travel. It is about discovery and surprise along the traveller’s journey, not outside the airport but within it.
Assouline Co-Founder Prosper Assouline’s beautifully evocative words sum it up better than I ever can: “Bringing our Travel Series Kiosk here felt inevitable. It is the very DNA of our Travel collection: to journey across the world without ever leaving home.”
Reading those words prompted me to explore Assouline further and to discover more about the brand’s culture and proposition. Through an array of crafted books, home fragrances, and objets d’art, Assouline says it “invites the intellectual and curious into a world of beauty”.
How refreshing in an increasingly dumbed-down world to hear such parlance. And that, in turn, made me wonder how it all began, a query answered by a tour of Assouline’s deliciously sumptuous website.
The year was 1993, when Martine and Prosper Assouline were staying at the renowned La Colombe d’Or hotel in France. As they were experiencing its beauty together, their curiosity for life and love of books inspired them to make their own tome about the hotel. Prosper took the pictures, Martine wrote the text, La Colombe D’Or became their first book, and Assouline was underway.
During the intervening years there have been some remarkable moments. Space permits me to only pick up a couple that particularly resonated with my own interests.
In 2016, Assouline launched The Impossible Collection of Wine (pictured right), pushing boundaries of packaging design with the book’s cork cover and wooden crate. Brilliant.
Two years earlier, to celebrate the brand’s 20th year anniversary, Assouline opened Maison Assouline on Piccadilly in the heart of London, showcasing the complete Assouline world for the first time. Maison Assouline also saw the debut of Swans Bar, Assouline’s first hospitality concept.
Swans Bar is described as a bastion of elegance and culture, this time marrying the worlds of drink and travel, each crafted cocktail inspired by titles from the Assouline Travel Series.
Wow, just take a look at the image below. I would just love to see an Assouline Swans Bar brought to travel retail. But heck, knowing Qatar Airways Group Chief Retail & Hospitality Officer Thabet Musleh, he may already have one planned.
Assouline is about more than culture, commerce and travel. In 2019 it partnered with One Tree Planted (also a partner of The Moodie Davitt Report) to support reforestation efforts.
Since then, Assouline has helped plant over 200,000 trees—the equivalent of ten Central Parks—and supported revegetation projects in post-wildfire Australia, Brazil’s Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, and the Northeastern United States, among other regions.
There are many other standouts along the Assouline journey to date. How wonderful, then, that this remarkable sojourn has now reached one of the world’s great airports. ✈
Airport Wonders of the World
The magic of Hamad International Airport and Qatar Duty Free, including their outstanding shopping, dining and leisure services, were captured in a special film series by Moodie Davitt STUDIO, shot in 2024.
Below are the three episodes, which were shown onboard Qatar Airways to an audience of millions and are archived on the Moodie Davitt STUDIO YouTube Channel.
Episode 1 – An Incredible Journey Begins
The first film in the series (below) released in September 2024, features an overview of Hamad International Airport’s myriad wonders, including Orchard, the airport’s extraordinary 6,000sq m garden; a diverse arts and culture programme; superlative lounge facilities; and much more.
Episode 2 – Hamad International Airport: A Culinary Destination
This enthralling episode will certainly whet your appetite. It focuses on Qatar Duty Free’s multi-FAB Award-winning food & beverage proposition, exploring the diverse, multi-cuisine, 200+ outlets dining offer that ranges from grab-and-go to accessibly priced food courts and fine-dining experiences – unforgettably encapsulated in the Louis Vuitton Lounge by Yannick Alléno.
We talk to David Sosson, Qatar Duty Free’s Head of Culinary Operations, about the pride, passion and professionalism that he and his team pour into serving the travelling public across a network of culinary excellence that remains open around the clock. Remarkably, all food is prepared freshly on-site each and every day.
Episode 3 – Hamad International Airport: A Shopper’s Paradise
This enthralling episode showcases in highly cinematic style Qatar Duty Free’s Skytrax- and Frontier Award-winning shopping line-up, including an in-store interview with Thabet Musleh, the dynamic and visionary Qatar Airways Group Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer.
The superbly curated retail offer incorporates the most extensive array of luxury boutiques in the airport world; an acclaimed beauty offer; and a range of world-premiere and Qatar Duty Free exclusives.
