Today Duty Free at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

First-quarter 2026 revenue for Lagardère Travel Retail reached €1,365 million (approx. US$1,578m*) – up 5% on a reported basis and a 4.8% rise like-for-like (LFL).

Revenue grew by 7% excluding North Asia, which the travel retailer noted was due to ‘network streamlining in China’.

The difference between reported and LFL figures was due to a €38 million negative currency effect, stated the Lagardère, ‘mainly attributable to the depreciation of the US dollar and the UAE dirham’.

The positive scope effect was attributable to the consolidation of the duty-free business at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. [Ed – Lagardère Travel Retail won the rights in a competitive tender to operate more than 20 duty free shops at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol back in December 2024, with the project coming online in on the evening of 30 April to 1 May, 2025].

However, the effects of the Middle East conflict are noted with the company stating: ‘Geopolitical tensions have increased macro-economic uncertainty, feeding through into volatile energy prices, transport costs and exchange rates, which are likely to impact demand and operating costs’. The Group continues to monitor the developing situation.

Solid revenue growth

Revenue growth for the division forms part of the bigger picture of first-quarter 2026 revenue for the Group (which also includes Lagardère Publishing and Lagardère Live), totalling €2,037 million – up 3% as reported versus the same year-ago period.

On a LFL basis, revenue was up 3.8%, with all the businesses contributing to the Group’s growth effort.

Lagardère group consolidated revenue, Q1 2026.

“In the first quarter of 2026, amid an uncertain geopolitical climate, the Lagardère group recorded solid revenue growth of almost 4% driven by all its businesses and supported by its diversified international footprint,” said Arnaud Lagardère, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lagardère SA.

“Lagardère Travel Retail delivered sustained revenue growth. Europe and the Americas continued on their growth path, supported by solid performances in certain key countries, while Asia-Pacific posted sustained growth following the takeover of the Auckland concession, despite the ongoing streamlining of the network in mainland China.

“The conflict in the Middle East that broke out at the end of February 2026 weighed on air traffic and consumer spending during the first quarter. At this stage, it is too early to say how the situation will evolve. Lagardère Travel Retail is relying on its diversified geographic footprint and the resilience of its business model to mitigate the effects.”

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Lagardère Travel Retail is partnering with Paydens Group to deliver ‘Travel Pharmacy by Paydens’ at Heathrow Terminal 2.

Of its three arms, Lagardère Travel Retail is by far the biggest revenue generator, with its €1,365m generated in Q1 2026 far ahead of the €615m and €57m delivered by Lagardère Publishing and Lagardère Live respectively.

Zooming in on the travel retailer’s results shows that in France, revenue contracted slightly by 3%, mainly due to the ‘exceptional weather-related disruption to air traffic in January 2026 and the indirect effects of the conflict in the Middle East’.

The travel essentials and dining businesses were temporarily impacted by the closure of certain stores, while the duty-free business was lifted by upgrades to several stores at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport.

The EMEA region (excluding France) advanced by 6% (despite the situation in the Middle East), lifted by continued solid performances in Romania, the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy on the back of an increase in passenger traffic and network expansion.

The region was also supported by the restart of duty-free operations in Albania.

Lagardère Travel Retail commenced activities in Cameroon, at Yaoundé and Douala airports, in April 2025.

At the same time, Africa delivered sustained growth of 32% underpinned by ‘good sales momentum and recent store openings in Cameroon and Rwanda’.

In the Americas, revenue rose by 7%, driven by strong momentum in North America (up 6%), which benefitted from ‘sustained air traffic, network expansion and good sales momentum in the travel essentials and dining segments’. This, says Lagardère was ‘despite occasional weather disruptions in January and February’.

In the US, the impact of the partial shutdown on security screeners was said to support sales growth in March 2026, with ‘passengers spending longer in terminal shopping areas’.

In South America, growth came out at 28%, boosted by the opening of the new airport at Lima, Peru.

June 2025 saw the opening of duty-free, duty-paid and dining stores and restaurants in the new Lima Airport terminal in Peru.

Finally, the Asia-Pacific region posted solid revenue growth of 11%. Lagardère flagged that the impact of the ongoing restructuring of operations in mainland China was ‘largely offset by the highly successful takeover of duty-free activities in Auckland’ since 1 July 2025.

Major news during the quarter, as reported, includes Frédéric Chevalier succeeding Dag Rasmussen as CEO on 14 January 2026.

Additionally, expansion in Australia is having an impact. In March 2026, through its joint venture Lagardère AWPL, Lagardère Travel Retail was selected by Western Sydney International Airport (opening in the second half of 2026) to operate 11 duty-free and travel essentials stores, and by Sunshine Coast Airport for the complete overhaul of its travel essentials and dining offerings, with the staggered opening of seven points of sale from mid-2026.

*Based on average EUR to USD exchange rate in March 2026.

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