Lagardère Travel Retail has won the contract to operate duty-free retail at Auckland Airport, securing an eight-year agreement that will commence on July 1, 2025.
This move marks a new chapter for duty-free shopping at New Zealand’s busiest airport, bringing a full-scale transformation to the retail experience for both international arrivals and departures.
As part of the agreement, Lagardère Travel Retail will redesign and renovate all duty-free stores at Auckland Airport, ensuring a world-class shopping experience. The company is set to introduce a unique and localized retail offering, reflecting New Zealand’s rich culture and premium local products.
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.”
