Aelia Duty Free has opened its latest next-generation walkthrough concept at Prague-Václav-Havel Airport Terminal 1 in the Czech Republic.

As reported by TRBusiness, Lagardère Travel Retail outbid Dufry to the secure the duty free and fashion contract in November, which covers nine stores – eight selling liquor, tobacco, perfumes & cosmetics and gourmet food; and one dedicated to fashion goods.

The 1,400 sqm-plus store, located in the non-Schengen zone, pairs local merchandise and speciality retail with a stellar line-up of international brands across categories including perfumes & cosmetics, wines & spirits, confectionery, electronics and gifts.

Segmented zones are dedicated to local sense of place concepts featuring specialities such as herbal liqueur Becherovka, traditional Czech chocolate wafers Kolonada, and a new gastronomy category selling salamis, cheeses, jams and honey.

 

NEW ASSORTMENTS

Aside existing brands Dior, Chanel, Hermes and La Prairie, the walkthrough also includes new perfumes & cosmetics names from La Mer, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone and Benefit.

Meanwhile, in the confectionery category a new Lindt ‘Pick and Mix’ Gondola is on display to tempt passing travellers.

Experiential areas include showcase space for LTR’s digital platform La Scène, alongside a tasting bar, trend setter zone and click and collect service. The store is also launching a new website to support the functions.

The first visitors to the store, which opened on Wednesday 5 April to coincide with the airport’s 80^th anniversary of operation, included airport management and the country’s minister of finance.

Celebrations marking the milestone included an anniversary flight on the Prague-Piešťany-Brno-Prague route, followed by an insight into the airport’s future vision.

 

 

TEN YEAR INVESTMENT PLAN

Prague Airport recently published a guiding document outlining its vision for the next 10 years, which includes a CZK 27bn ($1.1bn) investment in projects such as an extension to Terminal 2 and the construction of a new parallel runway.

Last year, the airport handled 13 million passengers and is predicting a +8% increase in 2017.

The current passenger capacity stands at 15 million, but investments in the new terminal and runway capacity will allow it to handle upwards of 21 million passengers per year.

The airport says that Czechs make approximately 0.58 foreign trips per year – 40% of which are by air – but forecasts say this will increase to 1.24 trips per person per year in the next 20 years, as year-on-year passenger numbers grow by 3.4% over the same period.

Vaclav Řehoř, Chairman of the Prague Airport Board of Directors said in a statement: “Already this year, we have started implementing certain measures which will help us increase the capacity of the existing terminal building and runway system.

“Until 2020, we plan to invest CZK 2.3bn in increases to the number of check-in aisles, check-in desks and security control posts. These steps will increase the terminal capacity to 17 million passengers.”