TREND can exclusively report today that McArthurGlen Luxury Retail has announced the opening of its Collezioni concept at two more European airports ? Porto and Dublin.

The launch of the first Collezioni, at Venice Marco Polo Airport in the summer of 2008 (21 units), pioneered a radical reinterpretation of the presentation of luxury brands in the airport retail setting and McArthurGlen is now expanding this concept to other European gateways.

At Porto Airport, Collezioni will deliver a phased opening of 14 prestige stores across freshly designed retail space, along the main passenger flow in the International Departures Lounge.

Phase 1 of the Porto project opens in Spring/Summer 2009 and the second phase follows by the end of 2009. Porto Airport, opened just five years ago, is operated by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal SA and is a fast-growing, award-winning airport with 4.5m passengers (81% ABC1).

Luis Rodolfo, Retail Director, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal SA, says: ?We are really looking forward to the fashion range Collezioni will create for Porto. ANA is investing heavily to give this award-winning and beautiful airport the best that retail has to offer and Collezioni will deliver the top quality fashion that stops passengers in their tracks. We want to make Porto a truly amazing airport experience, for passengers and shoppers.?

At the same time, Collezioni is also opening at Dublin Airport this summer with six units, housed in the new E.55m extension at Terminal 1.

Both Dublin and Porto have experienced strong growth in traffic over the past five years, and Dublin is now Europe?s eighth largest airport and fourteenth in the list of the world?s busiest airports.

Brian Collie, Chairman of McArthurGlen Luxury Retail said: ‘The Travel Retail experience needs, more than ever, to stand apart from the shopping avenues and High Streets, and Collezioni helps achieve that by delivering a truly unique brand experience at each location. These two latest openings also demonstrate the adaptability of the Collezioni concept to meet the needs of different locations and passenger profiles, bringing together both international labels and regional favourites.

?Even before Venice opened we knew we had a winning concept, bringing airports a bespoke and vital new opportunity to maximise their revenue. Collezioni at Venice has, even in the face of the global downturn, performed strongly, providing travellers with an exciting new retail experience and delivering incremental income streams for our brand partners and for the airport. I?m confident that Collezioni at Porto and Dublin will continue that success. ?Collezioni now extends from the Atlantic coast to the Adriatic, via the Irish Sea, and we look forward to bringing this remarkable new experience to more airports in the years ahead.?

The Collezioni concept facilitates the entry of fashion brands into the airport environment by overcoming a range of perceived barriers to entry and providing a critical mass of prestige brands, all operating as individual stores. This is principally made possible by the unique strength of relationship between McArthurGlen and its more than 750 brand partners, established by over 14 years of co-operation in the outlet channel in Europe.

J W Kaempfer, Chairman and founder of the McArthurGlen Group said: ?McArthurGlen?s experience and relationship with its brand partners is the bedrock of the Collezioni concept and, complemented by Brian?s exceptional insight into travel retail, the synergies we have developed have enabled us to create a unique experience for the customer. We provide our brand partners with the support and confidence to enter a new channel that provides an ideal setting and exceptionally concentrated, affluent consumer profile. For the world?s leading luxury brands, Collezioni opens up vital new opportunities in full price retailing.?

COMMENT: Collezioni ? by default ? is probably even more relevant to airports than it was previously, given the present economic environment. It is also an example of travel retail fashion retailing coming to life in a joint venture spirit at airports, where all parties stand to make money. While The Business does not know the terms and conditions on which Collezioni operates, the shared contribution between all of the brands makes total sense