2020 challenges
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Dag Rasmussen
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lagardère Travel Retail
What were the key hlights for lagardère travel retail in 2019?
We enjoyed another year of growth, driven by:
- a good performance in existing stores thanks both to strong growth in traffic and the positive effects of our commercial strategy of keeping one step ahead of travellers' new needs;
- the success of network modernisations and openings;
- our entry into four new markets.
We also acquired International Duty Free, a major player in Travel Retail, with a leading position in Belgium and operations in Luxembourg and Kenya.
Lastly, we renewed some of our major contracts, notably the concessions at Prague’s Václav-Havel airport (Czech Republic), and won new ones, including the concessions at the airports in New Orleans (United States), Adelaide (Australia) and Bahrain, which will fuel our growth in 2020 and beyond.
What are your challenges and priorities for 2020?
During the first six months of the year, our operations benefited from a rise in passenger traffic, network expansion and our September 2019 acquisition of IDF. However, the Covid-19 epidemic which first emerged in China followed by the Asia-Pacific region at the end of January, has now become a pandemic, affecting most countries across the globe, and in particular our operations in Europe and North America. Much of our Travel Retail sales network in both airports and railway stations is currently either closed or severely disrupted. Operations in continental China are gradually resuming. All of our teams are working to manage this major crisis, with action plans put in place to maximise revenue and to protect earnings and cash flow generation.
Once the crisis is under control, we will also work to prepare and ensure that our operations resume as quickly as possible, and we will continue our growth and innovation drive as well as all of our sustainability initiatives.
Focus
The Belgian Chocolate House store (Belgium)
Acquisition of international duty free: drivinig growth
Lagardère Travel Retail has acquired International Duty Free, Belgium's leading Travel Retail operator also present in Luxembourg and Kenya. This acquisition consolidates Lagardère Travel Retail’s position as the world’s third-largest airport Duty Free operator and European market leader in Travel Retail.
With this acquisition, the division has enhanced its brand portfolio with the addition of concepts like The Belgian Chocolate House, which offers products from the leading Belgian chocolate makers (Neuhaus, Godiva, Corné Port-Royal etc.). The retailer therefore contributes to the 800 tonnes of chocolate sold each year at Brussels airport, or 1.4 kilos per minute.