Lagardere Builds Out Marseille Stronghold And Tests Checkout-Free Model In Hong Kong

Lagardère Travel Retail has expanded its presence at a key French airport, Marseille Provence, after winning a tender for the travel essentials and duty-free concession at the gateway on the south coast. The retailer will also operate a 500-square-meter restaurant in the public area of the central terminal building.

Lagardère Travel Retail France will also deploy its expertise in foodservice by opening a 500-square-meter restaurant in a public area in the heart of the central building. This new space will include an indoor/outdoor terrace of nearly 200 square meters and focus on French-style bakery and pastry with a range of local products and a view of the kitchens.

The two wins—an eight-year term for the duty-free and travel essentials business activities and 10 years for the foodservice unit—came on the back of bids that put the region and its culture at their heart, an angle that mid-size airports are finding attractive. For example, at Australia’s Gold Coast Airport, its ‘Coast to Hinterland’ design concept has been a key element of Heinemann’s recent store expansion, designed to evoke the beaches, rain forests, and mountains of the area.

As Lagardère has been operating at the Marseille Provence gateway for over 30 years it has good knowledge of the region, and already operates several Relay convenience stores, fashion and accessories units, as well as duty-free stores under its Aelia retail fascia.

Julien Boullay, sales and marketing director of Marseille Provence Airport, said: “Lagardère Travel Retail has reinvented itself by proposing innovative concepts and a renewed commercial offer. This ambitious project highlights the varied riches of our region.”

A complete airport makeover

The new stores are part of the overall overhaul of the airport’s Terminal 1 by Foster + Partners, including the centralization of passenger flows to funnel them into the departures area. Marseille Provence Airport, which celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2022, handled just over nine million passengers last year well above its prediction of 4.5 million at the start of the year.

New in Terminal 1 will be a 10,765 square foot walk-through store bringing travelers face-to-face with duty-free perfumes and cosmetics, gastronomy, confectionery, alcohol, and tobacco brands. Beyond this store, Lagardère will have more than 1,500 square feet of fashion labels in a multi-brand environment, with a further duty-free area in the non-Schengen part of the terminal.

The space dedicated to travel essentials will also cover more than 10,765 square feet, divided into four Relay stores, including a boutique in the public area of the terminal bringing together locally-made souvenirs and fashion items. Meanwhile, in the domestic flights area, Lagardère will open the first walk-through Relay store anywhere. In Terminal 2, the stores will be given a face-lift, with a revamp of the duty-free area of over 4,300 square feet and of the slightly smaller travel essentials space.

Vincent Romet, CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail France and Regional COO for the Middle East commented: “The new environment is exceptional and ambitious. We had to develop a highly authentic offer, through local and artisanal brands that were carefully selected.”

By population, Marseille is France’s second biggest city after Paris with about 871,000 residents, and the third largest when including its entire metropolitan area. However, despite being a center for trade and industry, the city’s airport is only the fourth busiest in the country, behind its south coast rival Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. There is, therefore, a big opportunity for growth.

A Hong Kong first

Further afield, Lagardère Travel Retail has opened its first autonomous, checkout-free shop at Hong Kong International Airport called Travelwell. The store deploys AI and computer vision technology—much like Amazon’s
AMZN
Just Walk Out concept—which has appeared in U.S. airports.

Lagardère—which recently debuted Fortnum & Mason’s first store in Asian travel retail at the gateway—has used an AI system from Cloudpick, developed by Shanghai Yunna Intelligent Technology Company. The retailer hopes that by streamlining the shopping process passengers will get “a real” grab-and-go experience as they rush through the airport. Customers use their credit card to enter the store; shop the range of packaged food, ready-to-eats, beverages, travel essentials, and local souvenirs; take the products and leave.

The AI utilizes various algorithms to track the movement of products as well as the gesture of the customers to ensure shoplifting can be identified and that purchase records are accurate. Receipt printers are situated next to the exit and a staff member is present to answer questions and provide guidance.

This 950 square meter store is the first autonomous store in Hong Kong Airport and, depending on its success, a Lagardère Travel Retail spokesperson said that the company may develop more in Chinese airports and train stations, “but nothing is planned yet.”

Séverine Lanthier, Asia COO and group chief strategy and development officer at Lagardère Travel Retail, commented: “I hope the new experience will appeal to travelers and become a memorable part of their journey. This project represents a key milestone in our roadmap to elevate traveler shopping.”

The travel retailer—whose sales in 2022 where €3.9 billion (9.6% lower than in 2019)—says it first came up with the idea back in 2019, but Covid-19 brought plans to a temporary halt. Post-pandemic, minimal touch, autonomous stores are expected to prove popular at airports from both hygiene and convenience aspects.