Lagardère Travel Retail re-opens outlets in Australia and New Zealand

Lagardère Travel Retail Pacific has begun to re-open some of its stores across the region, starting with a handful of outlets in the domestic terminals at Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Perth and Melbourne this week.

According to the travel retailer, the small selection of stores will be used as test cases with restricted trading hours, with learnings gathered to be applied to further recovery efforts once passenger numbers increase to more sustainable levels.

It closed all bar one store in the Pacific due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020.

To ensure the safety of all customers and staff, the stores have strict hygiene and safety measures in place, including the use of protective equipment, personal hygiene protocols, thorough and regular disinfection of all facilities and social-distancing measures.

Przemek Lesniak, CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail Pacific, said: “Throughout this crisis, we have stayed positive and strong and focused on providing support to our teams impacted by store closures.

“We have been watching other parts of the world come through the other side, waiting for the right time to start our recovery in the Pacific.

“To reopen even a handful of our stores in Australia and New Zealand this week is a big moment. It will take time, but we are continuing to think positively about the future and hope to see passenger numbers continue to increase to allow more stores to reopen soon.”

Lagardère Travel Retail operates the largest network of travel retail stores in the Pacific region, operating Food Service, Travel Essentials and Duty Free outlets in 23 airports across Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.