Lagardère Travel Retail wins Duty Free tender at Auckland Airport

Following a competitive tender, Lagardère Travel Retail is delighted to have been appointed by Auckland Airport to operate duty free retailing at AKL under a new eight-year contract beginning on July 1, 2025. Over the course of the new concession, Lagardère Travel Retail will undertake a full refurbishment of all Auckland’s duty free stores to provide a truly world-class shopping experience for travelers to and from New Zealand.

Through this renewed partnership with Auckland Airport, Lagardère Travel Retail will provide travelers in New Zealand’s biggest city with a unique experience and exceptional value. The company is committed to creating a bespoke retail proposition for Auckland, capitalising on New Zealand’s rich culture and array of high-quality local brands and produce.

Dag Rasmussen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lagardère Travel Retail, commented:
“We are honoured and thrilled that Auckland Airport has put its trust in Lagardère Travel Retail to begin a new chapter for duty free retail at AKL. This new concession marks a fresh start for duty free in Auckland, and travelers will benefit from a thorough transformation of the retail offer, based on a unique retail experience and a heightened sense of place. This important contract gain underlines Lagardère Travel Retail’s commitment to New Zealand and to developing our footprint in Asia Pacific. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the LagardèreAWPL team for their dedication and hard work over the past years, as they transition into the Lagardère Travel Retail business.”

Mark Thomson, Chief Commercial Officer at Auckland Airport said:
“In selecting Lagardère Travel Retail, we are confident we have a partner that is a world-leader in duty-free shopping, which understands the New Zealand and trans-Tasman duty-free proposition. They have over 10 years’ experience at AKL, most recently as part of the joint venture company LagardèreAWPL, trading as Aelia Duty Free. They also have global retail pedigree, operating in some of the largest airports in the Asia-Pacific region and in other locations around the world.” 

ABOUT LAGARDERE TRAVEL RETAIL
One of the two priority divisions of Lagardère group, Lagardère Travel Retail is a leading global Travel Retailer, with the longest standing expertise of serving the needs of travelers and partners across Travel Essentials, Duty Free & Fashion and Dining. Lagardère Travel Retail operates over 4,970 stores in airports, railway stations and other concessions in 51 countries, and has generated €7.6 bn in sales (100%) in 2024.
We harness our pioneering culture to make travel more enjoyable with bespoke offers and experiences. We invest our world-class global expertise and local knowledge to design value-creating partnerships and experiences for our stakeholders: landlords, brands, travelers, employees and communities.
We actively champion the more sustainable future of Travel Retail through our comprehensive CSR strategy, covering all aspects of where we, as a business, have an impact and can make a difference.
www.lagardere-tr.com  ●  @LagardereTR