Extime has solidified its position as one of the most innovative operators in Europe, as it seeks to strategically grow its operations in France and internationally.

TRBusiness was on location with Guy Bodescot, Executive President of Extime Duty Free Paris, Caroline Blanchet, Chief Marketing Officer for Groupe ADP, and Mathieu Daubert, Chief Commercial Officer for Groupe ADP.

The trio offered a deep exploration of the burgeoning success of Extime, the joint venture between Lagardère Travel Retail and Groupe ADP, which is taking a global approach to the development of its airport network with brand-new boutique and VIP terminals, a more integrated approach to retail, an all-encompassing digital ecosystem, and even a dedicated campus for training and collaboration.

For context, Groupe ADP had essentially acted within the confines of a rolling contract with the French government to manage Paris Aéroport, which has brought with it a level of uncertainty as to the opportunity for – and stability of – investments into non-regulated business activities.

This year the group is currently engaged in a re-negotiation of said contract, aiming for a multi-year investment plan, as its 2025 Pioneers Strategy also ends, paving the way for a regenerative new commercial blueprint.

Extime Digital Ecosystem

Extime’s digital ecosystem consists of its Extime Rewards programme, which boasts three million members, as well as the Extime.com online marketplace, which counted 550,000 online clients in 2024.

One of the aspects emphasised the most during the media day was the move towards a synergistic approach between Extime’s various divisions: Duty Free, Media, Travel Essentials, and Lounge.

Bodescot underlined the importance of the digital ecosystem in generating loyalty amongst passengers, who can no longer be seen as ‘merely a boarding card’ but instead must be viewed in a more personable and individual manner: “Historically in travel retail, we didn’t care about talking. to our passengers before they came to the to the store, really, so our marketing was purely on-site marketing. Digitalis ation brings us the possibility to be in touch with that customer before they come to the airport and potentially after they visited our stores, which is a huge change for us.”

Daubert engaged in a thorough breakdown of Extreme’s 2024 performance, plans for terminal re-developments in Paris and Orly, its recent acquisitions, and overarching strategy to continue growing SPP.

As an example, Extime now implements terminal-specific changes to the UI (user interface) on its app and online marketplace which automatically position products – and in some cases limit those available to view by the customer – dependent upon time of viewing (relative to boarding) and available stock, to streamline the path to purchase and remove an element of stress from the process.

Bodescot added: “When people come to the airport, they are travellers. They suddenly become travellers. And that is a great opportunity, because it’s all positive emotions. So, if we can have our sales assistant interact on the hospitality matters, on the product knowledge, if they can interact with the customer based on this positive emotion of traveling, it makes the transformation easier when you are a sales assistant and offers a great opportunity to grow the business.”

The Phygital Approach

Blanchet talked about the changing nature of customer relations in travel retail, and the logic behind the segmentation of terminals: “I come from the hotel industry, and arriving the airport industry was quite interesting for me, because in the hotel industry, we segment offers. You have five-star hotel, four-star hotel, three-star hotels, two-star hotel, and there’s a wide range of choice for the customers.”

The phygital approach in T1 especially helped SPP soar in 2024, reaching. thanks to its blend of luxury, beauty, and high-end F&B offerings.

Blanchet continued: “It’s quite interesting to see that in the airport, we need to serve everyone, which makes it complex and having a global offer to suit every type of people is important, is interesting. With Extime, I think we managed to do that by addressing different interests for different people. We work on these three pillars of design, offer, and excellence of service, and through them we are trying to forge a real relationship with people whether it’s digital or with shop floor interactions, something we call the first positive response, which involves listening to the customers’ needs.”

Blanchet concluded: “The strength of the Extime umbrella brand is in sharing a unique brand. I mean, if you work as a salesperson or a receptionist for the lunch or a waiter for food and beverage, you work for Extime, and we share the same values. We share the same storytelling that we want to give to our customers.”

Boutique Terminals, Global Footprint

Extime Paris manages several operators in each of its boutique terminals and does so with a singular focus on open communication and excellence in service.

The terminals are split based on three distinct offerings: Premium, of which T1 is a shining example; Lifestyle, primarily for Schengen clientele and local airlines; and Exclusive, the latest development within Extime’s ever-growing portfolio focused on VIP terminals (not to be confused with FBO’s) in Paris, and soon the US. Importantly and comparative to the Group average, Terminal 1 saw a whopping €87.60 SPP in 2024, an increase of 14% over 2023.

In Terminal 1 fashion represented 2/3 of sales in 2024, with beauty as the second biggest category, and Extime has concrete  ambitions to build upon this success with transformations of its other flagship terminals, namely Terminal 2E, Hall K in Paris CDG, which serves as a Skyteam Hub, and Terminal 4 at Paris Orly.

The re-designed Terminal 1 at Paris CDG features one of – if not the highest – concentration of luxury brands across European aviation, as well as a design mimetic of a boutique hotel, which heralds the terminal’s original 1974 interior.

Daubert noted of the Terminal 2EK development: “We’ll refurbish almost everything in the space. And the idea of the global refurbishment is to organize a space just like a hotel…We have just started the works in January, and it will be two to three years’ work in total, with a very famous designer.”

Grand openings

Bolstered by the strong SPP recruited across its Parisian airports, whereby Spend Per Passenger (SPP) landed at €33.1 for Extime’s airside operations – the industry average being €10 – the operator aims for sales to continue to exceed departing traffic by 3x as a minimum.

Daubert noted while retail will invariably continue to form the commercial backbone of its revenue, topside growth will be driven by its numerous hospitality ventures, which include a private terminal at Paris CDG and others across the Atlantic, following the recent acquisition of Private Suites (P/S), and the establishment of the Extime Lounge in Almaty Airport, which opened in October 2024 alongside TAV OS as the first international expansion of Extime outside of its Parisian Hub.

The private terminal, which costs €4800 for a party of three, will service  50-100 delegations daily across its 19 suites (each 35sq m) which are split between those designated for diplomatic officials, and those for other VIP clientele.

With locations currently in Los Angeles and Atlanta, two further private terminals are expected to open in Dallas and Miami in 2026.

Further the business enlarged its portfolio in the same month with the acquisition of Paris Experience Group, a leader in touristic experiences based in Paris.

The ‘Extimers’ Community

One of the biggest and most recent tools in its commercial and collaborative arsenal is the Extime Campus, which opened in November 2024, built a stone’s throw away from the Groupe ADP and Air France offices.

“All the people working across Extime from F&B to retail and so on, they are all part of our community,” explained Daubert.

The sense of community engendered by the development of an ‘Extimer’ community has had a marked influence on Groupe ADP’s turnover rate, which peaked at 37$ post-covid, but now rests between 20% and 25%.

The shift towards building a community feel was brought into sharp focus as Groupe ADP was left needing to replace the nearly 600 employees who left the business Paris operations’ post-Covid, taking with them years of experience and product knowledge.

The campus includes training rooms designed for every facet of shop floor operations, from till training to product sampling, in an effort to hone the skills of its sales assistants and provide fertile grounds for cooperation between each operator.

Bodescot continued: “Hospitality especially is a permanent exchange of iews and the construction of relationships with our customers and each other…This campus is designed to allow the Extime brand to materialise. It is split between a school-like training section, and a separate, connected area for open discussion between members of our various divisions.”

Keep your eyes peeled for individual interviews with Bodescot, Blanchet and Daubert on the growth of Extime, Chinese pax, and the confluence of retail and hospitality, among many topics covered during a recent tour of Extime’s Paris CDG operations.

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