Lagardère Travel Retail adds new Berlin airport to its German footprint

Lagardère Travel Retail is pleased to announce it has opened 10 Travel Essentials stores on 1st November at the new Willy-Brandt Berlin Brandenburg airport. The openings take place in a very challenging context but mark a new step into the company’s development in Germany and reinforces its commitment to the resilient Travel Essentials segment.

With a total area of about 865 square meters, the 10 stores are split between six different brands, combining international concepts such as Relay, Hub Convenience and Lego as well as local brands: Look54, Ampelmann and departure BER. The stores will offer a wide range of products from food-to-go and convenience to souvenirs and toys.

These openings take place under extremely challenging circumstances due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the new mobility and travel restrictions being put in place in Germany. It will be some time before the airport and their newly revealed retail spaces deliver their full potential to passengers. To ensure the highest possible level of safety and protect both staff and customers, all the hygiene and distancing measures have been enforced.

These openings will reinforce the position of Lagardère Travel Retail in Germany – which is already present in 10 airports and 39 train stations with more than 120 stores. In the country, the company operates two business lines, Travel Essentials and Foodservice, with a wide-range portfolio comprising of well-known international and local brands such as Relay, Hub Convenience, Virgin, Coffee Fellows and Frankfurter Markthalle Foodcourt in Frankfurt Main Station.

To comment on these openings, Jochen Halfmann, CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail Germany, said: “We are thrilled to be able to take a next step in our development in Germany, in what remains a very challenging environment. The deterioration of the global sanitary situation as well as the new preventive measures being enforced in the country mean the unveiling of our new stores hasn’t been the one we had hoped for. However, we are confident that the new Berlin airport will be in the future one of the three main airports in Germany and so we’re very pleased to be starting this journey with them. We are also further investing into the Travel Essentials segment because it has shown greater resilience during the crisis, by fulfilling the basic needs of travelers. Despite the difficult circumstances, we remain committed to deliver first-class support and service for our customers.”

Of the three business lines Lagardère Travel Retail operates, Travel Essentials is the one to demonstrate the greatest resilience, and the fastest recovery rate. This resilience relies on both its multi-channel nature (major footprint in rail, shopping centres as well as in airports) and a multi-category offer which has benefitted from other stores being closed during lockdowns, such as restaurants. The crisis has been an opportunity to reveal the truly essential nature of Travel Essentials stores. In 2019, Travel Essentials represented €2.2 billion, 41% of Lagardère Travel Retail’s total sales.

Lagardère Travel Retail has been operating in Germany since 1999. It started as a pure press and book retailer but today the entity has a wide portfolio in Travel Essentials and Foodservice which is highly appreciated by customers and landlords.