Incumbent Lagardére Travel Retail captures Prague Václav Havel Airport duty free contract

CZECH REPUBLIC. Václav Havel Airport Prague has named incumbent Lagardére Travel Retail as the winner of its ten-year duty free concession, following a tender. It will operate 24 retail units across 4,372sq m of space at the Czech airport.

Prague Airport said it has partnered with a duty free operator with a global vision that will bring an offer tailored to individual passenger segments, bring new brands to the airport, introduce modern store designs, incorporate digital sales elements, new sales channels and a range of local products. Lagardére will offer passengers at the airport 767 brands, of which 140 will be completely new and 80 will be local. More than 90 exclusive product lines will also be available at the airport.

The new ten-year contract will cover both Prague Airport terminals and is scheduled to begin on 1 January 2020

Commenting on the decision to award the contract to Lagardére Travel Retail ahead of Dufry and Gebr Heinemann, Vaclav Rehor, Chairman of the Prague Airport Board of Directors, said: “The successful completion of the demanding concession procedure will bring the passengers a much broader and better-quality offer of duty free products and services.

“On the other hand, thanks to the result of the concession procedure, Prague Airport was able to fulfil its strategy in the area of non-aviation business, which consists in continually expanding the offer, increasing the quality of products and services, lowering prices and at the same time increasing the non-aviation business revenues, which should even up the aviation revenues over the longer term.”

The stores will be fully renovated and operational by the end of June 2020

The airport operator added that Lagardére was awarded the contract equally because of its financial offer, the services offered and the range of products promised for the stores. The total amount of rent for the ten-year contract, which begins on 1 January 2020, is CZK8 billion (US$351.2 million).

Rehor added: “As part of the concession procedure, we have received high-quality and, in all respects, balanced offers from three world leaders in the duty free business. We are pleased that the best offer finally came from Lagardére Travel Retail, with which we can continue our very good and mutually friendly cooperation in creating a modern duty free product focused on the customers and their current needs.”

Lagardére Travel Retail COO Europe, Middle East & Africa Frédéric Chevalier said: “We have enjoyed a strong and successful partnership with Prague Airport for years and this win is a significant milestone for the group. Our partnership is stronger than ever as we embark on this new journey with a shared vision of what travel retail should be today and for the next decade.”

The Fashion Place store Lagardére Travel Retail already operates at the airport

The contract includes the operation of the walkthrough duty free store in Terminal 1 of the airport, which Lagardére already operates, and seven different types of shop. Each of the shops will be focused on a different assortment of brands and demographics.

Czech brands and products will form a cornerstone of Lagardére’s offer

Lagardére will introduce a store design that is stylish and modern, but also steeped in the history of Prague and the Czech Republic, according to the airport operator. The retailer will also bring specially trained staff, with a special emphasis on Asian language and innovative sales channels, to the airport.

After the start of the contract in January 2020, Lagardére will renovate the stores for several months. They will be partially open by the end of March 2020 and fully operational by the end of June 2020.

Lagardère Travel Retail Czech Republic CEO Richard Procházka commented: “We know what passengers want and how to bring it to them. We will deliver a completely renewed shopping experience with new retail technologies and a continuous renewal of our offer to showcase the best of Prague and the Czech Republic alongside the trendiest brands and travel retail exclusives. Our unique glocal organization – with experienced and empowered local teams supported by the expertise of the group – will enable us to do just that.”

The traffic figures here are published by exclusive agreement with m1nd-set’s Business 1ntelligence Service (B1S). This unique air traffic forecasting tool was developed with IATA and ARC’s ‘Direct Data Service’ (DDS) database. Click to enlarge.

Prague Vaclav Havel Airport handled an estimated 16.8 million passengers in 2018, with volumes forecast to rise to 21 million by 2025.

The Moodie Davitt Report’s Dermot Davitt was on location at Prague Airport earlier in the year. Read his report in our eZine here.

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