Wholly-owned Gebr. Heinemann subsidiary Travel Retail Vilnius has officially unveiled its new 850sq m walkthrough shop in the Schengen area at Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania, as preempted by TRBusiness.

The unveiling follows the July opening of a converted 119sq m duty free store in the non-Schengen area. This is located in the waiting hall close to boarding gates A8/1 and A8/2. This was one of the first stores to open as part of the reconstruction of the commercial areas.

Travellers visiting the new walkthrough have access to the entire range of perfumes and cosmetics, tobacco products, confectionery, spirits and accessories, which are geared towards travellers’ favourite brands.

Travel Retail Vilnius, has been operating 10 shops across 1,060sq m under the Heinemann Duty Free and Travel Value Vilnius branding at the country’s capital airport since 2008.

TERMINAL REVAMP

It will now run six outlets spread over 1,500sq m as part of a terminal revamp at the airport which handles around 4.6m pax annually. Four Schengen shops are currently under construction and the conversion phase is set for completion in March 2019.

The retailer secured a six-year contract extension at the airport earlier this year. Part of the agreement was to give the shops a fresh design and surface concept and create a new shopping experience. across a larger area featuring local and international brands.

Speaking to TRBusiness ahead of the unveiling of the Schengen walkthrough, Bernard Schlafstein, Director Sales, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Gebr.Heinemann said: “Lithuania is an important market for our growth strategy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and we will further strengthen our commitment here.

“We are feeling particularly attached to Lithuania as it is one of the markets in which our Eastern Europe and Central Asia division has been operative for a very long time. We are extremely proud that the same employees who have been working for us since day one, are still with our company today.”

LOCAL BRANDS

Schlafstein, who indicated the non-schengen store is performing very well and exceeding expectations, said local brands played a ‘very important role’ in general. This is why there will be a continued focus on a large selection of popular local brands in four of Heinemann’s duty free and travel value Shops. Around 120sq m of sales space will also be dedicated exclusively to Lithuanian products in the new walkthrough.

Alongside souvenirs, typical Lithuanian products from the world of accessories, toys, designers’ art works and specialities from the fine food and liquor categories are particularly popular with travellers. Highlights include Lithuania’s largest spirits producer Stumbras, wine producer Gintaras Sinas and Naive’s handmade chocolate.

The presentation of local brands plays an important role for the airport and was a key requirement for the contract extension. Lithuanians account for around 50% to 60% of passengers at Vilnius International Airport. In addition,  Lithuanians, Germans, Finns and Brits are among the strongest customer groups in the Heinemann Duty Free and Travel Value Shops at the airport.

CURRENT TRENDS

Meanwhile, Travel Retail Vilnius is picking up on current trends in the fashion and accessories segment and offering passengers a wider choice with a completely new children’s corner. This features an expanded range of toys along with a new sunglasses area.

New brands such as Tumi, Furla, Calvin Klein, Wolford and Love Moschino make up the shopping experience. The increasing number of younger travellers are addressed in the shop with special digital offers, one of which is a planned in-store selfie point.

Gunnar Heinemann, Co-owner, Gebr. Heinemann remarked: “Lithuania is a strategically important market for Gebr. Heinemann because, like all Baltic states, it traditionally forms the bridge between Western and Eastern Europe. Lithuanians have also been very keen to travel since joining the EU in 2004.

“That is the reason why this country is an important part of our growth strategy. Over the past decade, we have invested heavily in the Lithuanian market, consolidating our position in the region. We are very satisfied with the results and will further strengthen our commitment here.”

SENSE OF PRIDE

Laura Joffe, Executive Director of Lithuanian Airports commented: “We can be proud that we have a lot of Lithuanian artists whose creativity and various art and gastronomic work make Lithuania famous worldwide. We have been working very closely with our partners from Gebr. Heinemann in developing the vision of the new store so Lithuanian creators would be seen.

“We appreciate this long-standing partnership, based on mutual understanding which continues to grow. We are sure it will help meet the growing needs of Vilnius Airport’s travellers, both on the wider range of services and variety of goods.”

She added: “The store reflects global trends and has been successfully implemented as part of the terminal reconstruction of the commercial areas. The rapid growth of airport passenger flows obliges us to improve the capacity of our terminal. By increasing our commercial area, we can offer our passengers even more convenient and faster services. Now we are successfully heading towards the further modernisation of Vilnius Airport.”

BUSINESS EVOLUTION

Assessing the evolution of the company’s Lithuanian business in general, which encompasses Kaunas Airport, where Travel Retail Vilnius opened stores last year, Schlafstein commented: “We are very satisfied with the evolution of our [Lithuanian] business.

“Sales turnover and passenger growth are developing very well in both locations. We have continuously worked to design a tailor-made shopping experience in Kaunas and Vilnius and are very pleased with the results.”