COVER STORY: LAGARDÈRE TRAVEL RETAIL
and is happy with its progress in China, according to Rasmussen. Regarding Lagardère’s relationship
with partners during the pandemic, Rasmussen is content with the way they have been maintained. “We had strong ideas about what
we wanted with a clear and sound strategy. This was then implemented with our partners. There have been no major conflicts.”
“When Chinese customers buy, they want more than just low prices. They value their luxury shopping experience, the freshness and variety of products and the quality of the customer service.”
Dag Rasmussen, Lagardère Travel
Crisis presents opportunity The pandemic has actually enabled Lagardère to test the quality of its relationships with partners. “Our close relationships with partners to help survive the pandemic have been recognised by others. I am confident these tough times have laid the foundation for stronger partnerships.” Moving forward, retailer and
Above: Lagardère Travel Retail acquired Belgian operator International Duty Free last year.
They value their luxury shopping experience, the freshness and variety of products and the quality of the customer service.
Raising the bar “As all these projects proliferate, we as an industry and as Lagardère Travel Retail have a responsibility to raise the bar in terms of execution and quality, brand image and customer experience. This will ensure sustainable rapid growth for all our stakeholders (brands, airports and retailers).” Lagardère Travel Retail is taking the above responsibilities very seriously
Important contract win in Prague
Lagardère Travel Retail has declared the renewal of its Prague Václav Havel International Airport duty free contract as its most important of 2019. The incumbent duty free operator,
which has a long-standing partnership with the airport, overcame stiff competition from Dufry Group and Gebr. Heinemann to secure the contract. Beginning on 1 January 2020, the
contract covers 24 units with a total area of 4,372sq m across both terminals. Dag Rasmussen, Chairman & CEO,
Lagardère Travel Retail tells TRBusiness: “Prague was the most important renewal last year, as it was for duty free and travel
24 TRBUSINESS
essentials across the whole airport, where we also have food operations. “We’ve undergone a large-scale
refurbishment and started to open the stores.” Elsewhere, the company also secured
important contracts in Adelaide, New Orleans and Bahrain. There were also triumphs in various locations across Europe and China. “We have a decentralised and
empowered culture, which allows us to win lots of small contracts here and there. This is expected to boost future growth, without knowing exactly what the future holds [in the current climate].”
Securing a new 10-year contract at Václav Havel Airport in Prague was a major highlight for Lagardère Travel Retail in 2019.
OCTOBER 2020
landlord relationships, however, could continue to be tested, as Rasmussen explains: “We must re-think the nature of some of our contracts, both in the short-term – where we must implement certain changes to get through the crisis – and in the longer term in order to build this stronger future and create maximum value.” Creating maximum value and
sharing this fairly is an important objective for Lagardère. “This means that investments, risks and results must be remunerated fairly, which doesn’t mean evenly obviously, as we know we have a small part of it.” While Covid has posed
unimaginable challenges, Lagardère has identified that there is a real opportunity for companies to change and consider concepts/initiatives that perhaps they would not have thought about otherwise. Rasmussen says: “We are grasping
this opportunity to transform ourselves and help transform the industry into a more resilient one. I am still convinced that travel retail is the retail to be in.” In terms of buying habits across
its various platforms, Lagardère does not anticipate any changes in the short and medium-term. “What we do see is an acceleration of trends towards authenticity – not having repeat formats everywhere – customers’ desire to discover and buy more local products; more ethical and sustainable products; more emphasis on experience and the support of digital.” «
Lagardère does not expect buying habits to change in the short and medium-term.
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