After 18 months of development, London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 reopened yesterday, revealing some of its hotly anticipated luxury goods stores, including Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Rolex, Bottega Veneta and Fortnum & Mason.

 

Heathrow is now home to more than 400 brands and luxury boutiques represent 10% of Heathrow’s overall retail space. The full list of luxury brands on offer at LHR T5 is as follows: Bottega Veneta; Burberry; Cartier; Dior; Fortnum & Mason; Gucci; Hermes; Louis Vuitton; Montblanc; Mulberry; Prada; Rolex; Smythson; Tiffany & Co; Paul Smith and Pilots Bar & Kitchen.

 

As reported by TRBusiness.com in November last year, for the first nine months of 2014 Heathrow’s retail income increased 2.8% to £371m up from £361m in 2013. Net retail income (NRI) grew by 3.2% to £353m up from £342m in 2013, and NRI per passenger rose 1.7% to £6.34 up from £6.24, last year.

 

The airport is no doubt expecting its new luxury stores, such as  the long-awaited Louis Vuitton store, to boost its retail revenue in 2015. As previously reported, LHR opened the new 301sq m LV store, focusing on its travel heritage, at T5 in December last year. The airport says that this was a first in European airport travel retail and coincided with the unveiling of Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2015 collection which was presented earlier in Monaco at the Place du Palais by Nicolas Ghesquiere.

 

Laura Bailey, described as a ‘style icon’ was there to help promote the new stores and the new-look T5, which cost £40m ($61m). The terminal now has a collection of 22 fashion and luxury brands, each of which has been re-designed to echo the store’s flagship location.

 

Heathrow boasts the first Fortnum & Mason store and bar at an airport, where customers will be be able to indulge in Fortnum’s famous selection of tea or a glass of champagne.

 

Laura Bailey said: “Starting my travels at Heathrow is always a pleasurable experience. The airport has an excellent selection of luxury brands and houses some of my favourite designers. Heathrow’s Terminal 5 is one of my favourite retail destinations in the world. With the likes of Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Bottega Veneta, Burberry and Dior, pre-flight retail therapy has never been more exciting.

 

“Heathrow’s Terminal 5 is a great venue to hunt down some of the world’s most stylish travellers. With so many fashion forward people travelling daily, it’s no surprise that the airport attracts the world’s biggest and best luxury brands.”

 

John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow said, “Our ambition is to take Heathrow from being one of the best airports in Europe to one of the best in the world – we have always been famous for the quality of our retail experience. Today, we have taken it to a new level.”

 

Andrew Crawley, British Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “The addition of these new stores to our flagship home, Heathrow Terminal 5, is great news for our customers.

 

“Our travellers are very discerning, appreciate good design and want to make the most of their time and money – it’s why they fly with British Airways in the first place. Being able to pick up a little something from these exclusive brands as part of their flying experience is a real bonus.”

 

Other famously British stores at London Heathrow (across all terminals) include Barbour, Cath Kidston, Hackett, John Lewis, John Smedley, Joules, Kin, Kurt Geiger, LK Bennett, Michael Kors, Sunglass Hut, Ted Baker, Thomas Pink and Zara.

 

The airport highlighted that its most popular fashion purchases over the Christmas period included Louis Vuitton’s Capucines leather handbag, Victoria Beckham’s Hexagonal-chain shoulder bag, Mulberry’s Lily bag and Burberry’s Heritage trench coat.

 

Heathrow’s exclusive Personal Shopping Service, which is now available to book in advance online, brings together a team of stylists ‘with a unique insight into the luxury brands on offer at Heathrow’.