From L-R: Lucio Rossetto, Regional COO Europe, Lagardère Travel Retail; Fraser Brown, Retail Director, Heathrow; Frédéric Chevalier, CEO, Lagardère Travel Retail; Ross Baker, Chief Customer Officer, Heathrow; and Peter Newbould, CEO of UK and Ireland, Lagardère Travel Retail.

Lagardère Travel Retail has opened the first UK airport store for its travel essentials brand Relay at Heathrow Terminal 2 (The Queen’s Terminal).

TRBusiness was on location for the opening of the 420 sqm store today (Friday 22 May), which marks the first of four Relay stores at the London hub that will span a total of 1,360 sqm of space.

The other three will be located in departures (Gate Level), arrivals and in a satellite location, and are set to open progressively over the course of this year.

Today’s ceremonial ribbon cutting event was attended by senior Heathrow executives Ross Baker, Chief Customer Officer, and Fraser Brown, Retail Director, alongside Frédéric Chevalier, CEO, Lagardère Travel Retail with colleagues Lucio Rossetto, Regional COO Europe, and Peter Newbould, CEO of UK and Ireland.

The flagship Relay, situated on the Upper Level, brings the first Waitrose food-to-go and Paydens pharmacy to the UK airport travel retail scene as part of its blended concept of travel essentials, pharmacy products and services, and convenience offerings.

It’s a shining example of Lagardère Travel Retail’s approach to building concepts that are adapted to each different airport environment, yet with a common thread of a recognisable and consistent customer experience for passengers.

“The opening of Relay in T2 reflects our ability to combine global expertise with strong local partnerships to crate retail concepts that resonate with travellers,” said Chevalier, who described the opening as a “vital strategic development” of the UK business.

Left: The Relay brand’s playful Hay mascot helps bring ‘warmth, personality and an emotional connection to the travel experience’. Right: Frédéric Chevalier, CEO, Lagardère Travel Retail with TRBusiness Editorial Director Faye Bartle.

For Heathrow, the store marks the second example of a blended travel essentials store in the terminal, following the trial of a blended concept in 2020. The tender for the Upper Level space was issued in 2024, with the new Relay flagship having been two years in the making.

“We are absolutely clear and we validated that blended is the right thing to do in the departure lounges for Heathrow,” said Brown.

He continued: “It allows passengers to have that one-stop shop, so they like it – and we see that in the data.”

Left: The Paydens pharmacy offers services such as travel vaccinations, with a dedicated consultation room. Right: Products that evoke a sense of London are a key part of the offering.

The combination of the efficient use of space, the strong brand names and the savvy use of digital in-store – for example, there’s a touch screen featuring the Lagardère Travel Retail mascot Hay, who can help shoppers find the travel plug they need – aligns perfectly with Heathrow’s Digital, Experience, Space and Offer (DESO) retail strategy.

Food-to-go from Waitrose & Partners – its first UK airport outlet. 

A standout feature is the giant Lego Paddington Bear, which is made from 101,293 bricks, took 418 hours to build and weighs in at a whopping 425kg.

“They have built a beautiful store – the challenge now becomes trading it really hard,” said Brown. “From a commercial point of view, we all know that non-aeronautical income in airports is under pressure and every bit of space at Heathrow needs to pull its weight. But also it needs to deliver, first and foremost, and be a great experience – and you can see by blending everything together, we are using space really intelligently, which is incredibly important at Heathrow.”

Left: Moleskin notebooks are little luxuries. Right: The flagship houses a vibrant selection of books. 

Paydens is a family-run beauty/pharmacy business with a more than 50-year heritage, based in the South East of England.

The company’s travel retail debut sees it offering a selection of products and services, such as travel vaccinations and medications like melatonin, Covid and flu jabs and consultations in a dedicated, private space.

Peter Newbould, CEO of UK and Ireland, Lagardère Travel Retail, shows us the touchscreen travel plug advice programme.

Chevalier described the flagship as a mini department store that makes it easy for shoppers to move though the categories, from travel accessories to food & drinks, toys, souvenirs, magazines and books, but in a way that’s especially relevant for travellers.

On catering to the large footfall at T2, he said: “If we know the footfall will be high, we build stores that give enough space and freedom for the passengers to navigate the store and have a great experience. We don’t want to have packed stores – in the end it’s detrimental to the mission we are pursuing.”

The Gate Level Relay store at Heathrow is set to be more focused on souvenirs, without a pharmacy, but featuring curated general merchandise that offers an authentic sense of London.

As reported, the Waitrose food-to-go offer will launch in all four stores in the terminal.

Stakeholders gather around the Lego Paddington, built from more than 100,000 bricks.

The Heathrow opening builds upon the continued growth of the Relay concept at key hubs.

For example, Lagardère Travel Retail launched nine foodservice concepts across 10 locations and six new stores under the Relay brand at Frankfurt Airport’s new Terminal 3 in April.

More recently, Lagardère Travel Retail Germany opened a series of new food and retail experiences at Düsseldorf Airport on 4 May, including several new Relay stores.

Left: Lucio Rossetto, Regional COO Europe, Lagardère Travel Retail with TRBusiness Editorial Director Faye Bartle. Right: Handy, trendy buys from Miniso.

Stay close to TRBusiness for more news of upcoming openings.

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