French Luxury Icons, Dior And Louis Vuitton, Land At Milan’s Top Airport

The biggest airport serving Italy’s fashion capital of Milan has strengthened its high-end retail offer by introducing French heavyweights Dior and Louis Vuitton to anchor its luxury line-up with the largest boutiques at the gateway.

Milan Malpensa Airport—which handled almost 30 million passengers last year, up 11%—is continuing its strategy of establishing itself as a premier European destination for high-end shopping. The operator, SEA Milan Airports, which also runs the smaller airport of Milan Linate, is stepping up its luxury offer in line with the city’s rising popularity as a place to shop tax-free.

According to tax refund specialist Global Blue, between December 2024 and February 2025), Milan accounted for 9% of total tax-free sales in Continental Europe with an average spend of €2,240 ($2,615), bettered only by Paris with a 22% share and average spending of €2,660 ($3,105).

Both the Dior and Louis Vuitton boutiques are directly operated by the brands and have significant footprints at about 4,800 and 6,100 square feet, respectively. They take the number of luxury brands at Malpensa to 22, not including various corners and pop-ups within Avolta’s large duty-free stores at the airport.

The two new arrivals are strategically located in one of the most prominent areas of Terminal 1, and their eye-catching storefronts are now the first to be seen by passengers as they exit the security area into the retail spaces. Other big-name boutiques in T1 include Armani, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Bulgari, Damiani, Hermès, Ferragamo, Moncler, Tod’s and Zegna, many of them centered around a Davide Oldani Cafè.

Luigi Battuello, chief commercial officer of SEA, commented: “With the arrival of Dior and Louis Vuitton, Malpensa cements its status as a benchmark for premium airport shopping. The investment by these iconic brands reflects our vision of an increasingly international, modern gateway—credible to partners and attentive to the needs of global travellers.”

Milan lures global luxury shoppers

Last year, T1 had the most international passengers of any SEA terminal and/or airports at 30%. European passengers accounted for 21%, North Americans 4%, and North Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East passengers, 2%.

Intercontinental air traffic at Malpensa has been growing again and should support Dior and Louis Vuitton, both of which have been expanding at key hub airport like Qatar’s Hamad International and others. In the first five months of 2025, luxury sales increased by a solid 18% compared to the same period in 2024, driven by the rise in high-spending international travelers. Average transaction value also rose by more than 9% year-over-year. This builds on an already strong 2024 for luxury, which was up a very healthy 21%.

As with most airports in Europe, high-end retail sales drivers are non-European Union passengers, particularly from Asia and the Middle East. They account for over 80% of luxury purchases. T1 is, by far, the strongest terminal for non-EU customers.

In 2024, across the SEA network (Malpensa and Linate combined), sales rose by 15% reaching record commercial revenue of €470 million ($550 million). Food and beverage ticked up higher at 16.6%.

Malpensa has created a high-end commercial district at the airport, claiming to have a shopping experience “on par” with Milan’s downtown Quadrilatero della Moda fashion district, where streets like Via Monte Napoleone are world famous and a magnet for luxury shoppers from all over the world. Global Blue ranks Milan ahead of Florence and Rome as the most strategic destination for international travel shopping in Italy.

The fashion capital benefits from Italy’s global reputation for fashion and craftsmanship, although this is being tarnished by scrutiny into alleged abuse of workers through subcontracting practices. Loro Piana, an LVMH house known for cashmere, became the fifth luxury label in Italy to be put under judicial administration following investigations that started in 2023.