Aéroports de Paris, in partnership with LS travel retail, has given the clearest indication yet that it plans to become “the reference for travel retail in Europe” with the opening of a series of swish retail stores and concepts in the S4 satellite of Terminal 2E at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

 

Yesterday executives from LSTR and the ADP/LSTR joint venture operator Société de Distribution Aéroportuaire described the new 6,000sq m shopping area as the “last Parisian shopping experience” for passengers, and a “new vision for duty free and luxury in travel retail”.

 

In terms of bricks and mortar at S4, that vision encompasses:

– a flagship BuY Paris Duty Free department store of 2,200sq m (see below)

– a fashion multi-brand concept called BuY Paris Collection

– L’Avenue: a street of more than 15 luxury boutiques including Bottega Veneta, Burberry and Dior

– the first airside Fnac store

– Parisian Square, a light and airy ‘dwell’ space with trendy seating and featuring a large circular Ladurée café and Caviar House.

 

The new DF&TR facilities present a very sophisticated and coherent visual look for the (up to) 7.8 million Skyteam long-haul passengers that will use the satellite annually from this summer. Muted colours and black spell out the luxury nature of the offer, while understated signage and plenty of space all help to create an ambience of Parisian chic.

 

The main 2,200sq m BuY Paris Duty Free department store – similar to another smaller unit opened in March 2012 in the A-C link between Terminals 2A and 2C – is split into two parts by a central aisle: beauty is on one side with wines and spirits, gastronomy and confectionery on the other.

 

ARCHITECTURAL CUES

 

The largest shop at any Paris airport, the department store design uses Parisian architectural cues to express a sense of place and to give it a luxurious but restrained look. Its high-end credentials include a large Champagne area and an enclosed wine cellar (below left) where around 50 rare vintages from makers such as Petrus and Latour are available for connoisseurs to explore with help from expert advisors. Prices here range from €300 to €30,000 (US$378 to US$37,800). For the first time, a specialist Whisky area is also present.

 

 

In beauty, major brands such as Chanel, Dior, Guerlain and Lancôme all have large dedicated spaces while a number more, especially in skincare like Clarins and La Prairie, use display tables to encourage customers to try the products. The US nail brand Essie (above right) has also debuted at the airport in a large nail bar as has US apothecary house Kiehls.

 

Where the offer comes into its own is on the gastronomic side with two inviting corners for Fauchon (famous for its macaroons) and Mariage Frères (the speciality teas brand). In addition the shop brims with French foods such as regional cheeses, olive oils, foie gras and smoked salmon. Self-selection is encouraged, helped by an extensive tastings programme to deepen the customer experience.

 

Sabine Fagan, Aelia’s Executive Vice President Purchasing, says: “This was the most exciting project we’ve worked on. There was no shortage of brands and we asked the maisons to express their DNA in a contemporary way. There is a lot of opportunity for passengers to interact with the products, so even though it is a luxury environment, it is very accessible.”

 

To appeal to all passenger profiles, LSTR has used bright yellow ‘Super Deals’ labels (left) to highlight its value propositions while display units with names such as Miniatures, Airportunities and Now draw attention to products that are respectively designed for travellers’ convenience; exclusive to the channel; or newly available.

 

LUXURY L’AVENUE

 

The 10 boutiques (covering 1,500sq m) that complete the LSTR retail offer in S4 comprise Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Burberry, Chloé, Hermès, Lancel, Longchamp, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo and Tod’s. In addition, there are several more directly-operated boutiques from brands such as Dior, Gucci and Miu Miu, with Cartier, Ralph Lauren, Rolex and Royal Quartz opening soon.

 

Arranged in a street format with personalised spaces, the stores have a consistent frontage (see main image) to create a clean, upscale look and feel. Among the stores is also LSTR’s new multi-brand fashion concept, BuY Paris Collection (right) which has a mix of international labels such as Gerard Darel, Hugo Boss, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Swarovski, Repetto (in its most prominent retail space at an airport to date), Vanessa Bruno and Zadig & Voltaire.

 

Catherine Laborie, Head of Fashion Buying at SDA, tells TRBusiness: “This format will eventually be rolled out to the 20 multi-brand fashion stores we have in Paris.” Referring to the 10 brands chosen for boutiques she adds: “We had Chinese and American passengers in mind when we chose them. BRIC passengers have become very important (at CDG) and contribute about 20-25% of sales.”