Last year, Lagardère Travel Retail began its five-year duty free concession at Geneva Airport, bringing out the true uniqueness of Geneva. Stéphanie Metz-Thevenod, EVP Marketing & Digital Duty Free Global, Lagardère Travel Retail, shared some insights on Lagardère’s commercial and marketing strategies, ahead of her address during this year’s ACI EUROPE Airport Commercial & Retail Conference & Exhibition.
Stéphanie Metz-Thevenod, EVP Marketing & Digital Duty Free Global, Lagardère Travel Retail, will speak at this year’s ACI EUROPE Airport Commercial & Retail conference in Tel Aviv, 13-15 March, in a session entitled “The Star Chamber: Brand new centres of commercial excellence, new markets, new ideas… new ways of making money.”
When it comes to customer engagement, developing innovative concepts that cater for the diversity of targets and needs is key. That is why it comes of no surprise that Lagardère Travel Retail, a global leader in content production and distribution, has developed a marketing strategy revolving around innovative and performing retail concepts. “We see omnichannel and digital as major enablers today to reach travellers and develop customer engagement,” explains Stéphanie Metz-Thevenod, EVP Marketing & Digital Duty Free Global, Lagardère Travel Retail.
Developing commercial and marketing strategies to leverage those trends will be a key discussion during this year’s ACI Europe Airport Commercial & Retail Conference & Exhibition in which Metz-Thevenod will take part. “It is a great pleasure to be invited to that discussion at the ACI event in Tel Aviv. I will present our vision about the major trends impacting the way people shop and how we at Lagardère Travel Retail are developing commercial and marketing strategies to leverage those trends. In particular, the shift to mobile and the increasing search for a frictionless experience in retail, the impact of social media. But also, how omnichannel is developing at airports and the need to go from moment to momentum in our stores.”
Last year, Lagardère Travel Retail began its five-year duty free concession at Geneva Airport, where the travel retailer will introduce its personalised Aelia Duty Free concept, ‘The Art of Gifting’.
A “360o Geneva Experience”
Last year, Lagardère Travel Retail began its five-year duty free concession at Geneva Airport, creating a true sense of place. “We are very proud and honoured to have been awarded the Geneva Duty Free concession with our concept Aelia Duty Free ‘The Art of Gifting’,” enthuses Metz-Thevenod. “When we answered the tender, we spent a lot of time studying the uniqueness of Geneva and the passenger profiles to make sure the global retail proposition would both benefit from Aelia Duty Free retail and commercial high standards and be unique for the passengers travelling to and from Geneva Airport. For Geneva, we have developed at the heart of the store a 360° Geneva Experience including a bespoke offer around Swiss gastronomy, design and communication showcasing the amazing landscape of Geneva.”
Stéphanie Metz-Thevenod, EVP Marketing & Digital Duty Free Global, Lagardère Travel Retail: “We have created a unique vision for Geneva Airport: ‘Geneva Pure Inspiration’ to enable millions of passengers to dive into Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland singularity. A fusion between a unique glittering and authentic nature in terms of design and scenography, and Switzerland know-how in terms of service and store execution.”
After carefully studying the passenger profiles at the airport, Lagardère has established a diverse mix of brands and products to cater for its passengers needs and their purchase motivations – from accessible products and premium international brands to a strong focus on local brands highlighting the uniqueness of Geneva and the Swiss tradition.
Lagardère also relies heavily on introduction of new brands and new segments, as well as the impact of strong promotional offers. The travel retailer has introduced a personalised Aelia Duty Free concept at the airport, recreating a shop in shop concept. “We have created a unique vision for Geneva Airport: ‘Geneva Pure Inspiration’ to enable millions of passengers to dive into Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland singularity. A fusion between a unique glittering and authentic nature in terms of design and scenography, and Switzerland know-how in terms of service and store execution,” explains Metz-Thevenod.
As the year goes, the travel retailer will develop even more unique experiences that will be visible in the main shop in the second half of 2018, including an evolving and interactive branded digital platform showcasing brands, and a unique “Pure inspiration” tasting feature.
Among the digital and omnichannel experiences that will be showcased at the airport will also be Fragrance Match, using a unique and patented algorithm that helps shoppers select the perfect match in terms of fragrance. “In this category, our ability to bring a curated offer for Geneva passengers will definitely drive customer interest and category performance,” says Metz-Thevenod.
“Partnership creates value”
Looking ahead, Lagardère Travel Retail is fully committed to ensuring a retail proposition that is current and tailored to each individual airport.
“With the rise of digital, e-commerce and social media, as major influencers to purchase, I am convinced that partnership creates value. We look at every partnership that is able to connect our retail concepts to the right audience, before, during and after the store,” she concludes.
