Lagardère Travel Retail and partner Hubei Airport Group have celebrated the grand opening of the new retail and foodservice master concession at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport Terminal 3.

The lease covers 90 outlets across more than 8,000sq m of space, including luxury, travel essentials, speciality retail and food & beverage.

It marks the culmination of a redeveloped retail and foodservice offering at the new 495,000sq m airport terminal, which opened last year.

Emmanuel de Place, COO – Asia Pacific of Lagardere Travel Retail, commented: “Our opening here in Wuhan is another milestone for our development in the Asia Pacific region. It demonstrates the value of our multi-segment development strategy for landlords and brands alike and underlines our commitment to excellence in every aspect of our operations.”

THREE-AXIS OFFER

The merchandise assortment includes elements from across Lagardère Travel Retail’s three pillars – fashion (excluding duty free), Travel Essentials and Food & Beverage.

Emporio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hugo Boss, MCM, Coach, Calvin Klein Jeans, Pandora, Sunglass Hut, Victoria Secret,  Estée Lauder and Lancôme feature among the international luxury brand lineup.

Meanwhile, Relay, the travel retailer’s proprietary travel essentials concept, joins Discover Wuhan in the travel essentials segment alongside a wide food & beverages offer.

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, part of the Hubei Airports Group, served more than 23m passengers in 2017 and is an important airport in central China.

‘FAITH’ IN MASTER CONCESSIONS

In a statement, Lagardère Travel Retail praises its close partnership with its suppliers and the airport to deliver a balanced mix of international, national and local brands.

This is backed by strong references to the Hubei province capital’s history and proud traditions.

Dag Rasmussen, Chairman and CEO of Lagardere Travel Retail, said: “The commercial programme we have developed here in Wuhan shows the potential of the master concession model to enhance both commercial revenues and passenger experience.

“Proper planning, flexible use clauses and an equitable sharing of risk and reward between stakeholders enable us to deliver a world-class commercial offer to fast-growing, medium-sized airports. We are very grateful for the trust Hubei Airport Group has placed in our company and for the support received from our brand partners in the development of this project.”

Liu Zhanming, General Manager of Hubei Airports Group Industrial Company added: “As the largest commercial operator at Wuhan Airport, Lagardere Travel Retail has developed a mutually-beneficial proposition for our airport.

“Wuhan Airport will jointly promote the development of aeronautical and non-aeronautical activities and collaborate with our partners to innovate and advance the airport business. With a professional, market-oriented and international approach, we will write together a new chapter of prosperity in the airport commercial sector.”