Billabong, Lonely Planet and Longchamp stores, operated by LS Travel Retail ASPAC, were officially opened today at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) by the French Ambassador to Malaysia.

 

According to LSTR (part of Lagardère Services which is a division of French company Lagardère) the openings mark the first time an international duty free and travel retail operator has run stores at the Malaysian airport.

 

Emmanuel de Place, COO of LSTR ASPAC, comments: “Travel retail is a crucial and growing component of Lagardère’s business portfolio. Especially in Asia, travel is on the rise and this means there are vast opportunities in this region. We are pleased to be the first international travel retail operator in KLIA. Malaysia is a developing market and a strategic development for Asia (and) for this reason, we thank the Malaysia Airports team and our brand partners for making today possible.”

 

[Left: Madame Ambassador Martine Dorance (second left) flanked by LSTR ASPAC COO Emmanuel de Place (left); Malaysia Airports Senior General Manager Commercial Services Puan Faizah Khairuddin; and LSTR Singapore General Manager Lee Charn Cheng (right) open the Lonely Planet store at KLIA.]

 

 

Referring to the Lonely Planet store, Puan Faizah Khairuddin, Senior General Manager Commercial Services, Malaysia Airports, adds: “We are delighted that such an exciting concept will have its Asian debut at KLIA. This dovetails with our strategy of positioning airports as lifestyle destinations. Being able to take advantage of Lonely Planet’s interactive hubs, travel products and knowledgeable staff will give passengers a huge boon.”

 

Lonely Planet, best known for its travel guides, together with LSTR has created a store format which is debuting in Asia, following airport openings in Sydney, Australia and Manchester, UK.The KLIA unit (together with the adjacent Billabong store) covers 153.6sq m and sells all 477 Lonely Planet travel titles, along with an extensive range of travel essentials and gift items.

 

INTERACTIVE FEATURES

The store is designed with interactivity in mind and features wide display screens to capture passenger attention while a so-called iPad Concierge allows customers to connect with the Lonely Planet’s digital range of products and services. The iPad Concierge in KLIA also offers live face-to-face interaction between customers and staff at the Manchester and Sydney stores.

 

Board sports and beach fashion brand Billabong offers an extensive range of signature products including board shorts, surf T-shirts, bikinis, luggage, backpacks, accessories, as well as seasonal and limited edition collections. Most coveted by fans is the Platinum Stretch (PX) and Recycler board shorts series.

 

The 113sq m Longchamp boutique, opened in late August 2012 in the KLIA International Satellite terminal departures area, is the third in the LSTR ASPAC network. It offers bags, luggage, small leather goods and selected exclusives from its men and women collections.

 

FUTURE STORES

LS travel retail will also launch two new concept stores in the upcoming low cost carrier terminal klia2. Discover Malaysia, will be a 108sq m travel essentials unit selling local souvenirs and gifts while MY Lifestyle Gallery is a +500sq m multi-category store covering fashion, travel essentials, luxury accessories and most distinctively, an Elle Cafe within the store which takes its name from the beauty and fashion magazine.

 

With its latest additions, LSTR ASPAC now operates more than 200 outlets, at over 16 airports in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.