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Lagardere Travel Retail and Aeroporti di Roma have opened the largest Aelia Duty Free shop to date, at Rome Fiumicino airport.
Located at Fiumicino’s Hub East terminal (Terminal 1), the new Aelia concept marks the first opening after nearly two years of the pandemic crisis and has been described as a “testament to the very strong partnership” between the retailer and the airport.
Key features include an increased emphasis on locality, with an area dedicated to Italian beauty brands, a bigger space for the local fine foods concept Bottega dei Sapori, along with Italian design throughout the store.
New in-store highlights include masterclasses, live demo of cocktails, chocolate tasting, flash make-up and perfumes testing.
What’s more, customer experience is enhanced by extended phygital capabilities, including virtual trial make-up sessions, digital totem stands, as well as click & collect services.
Customers can also benefit from a best-sellers and novelties section, an immersive toys area, and a “World of Italy” souvenirs space with digital features best showcase the product offering.
Finally, the new store offers a broader promotional offer, best-sellers and travel exclusives.
Lagardère Travel Retail, Italy, CEO Alberto Niero said: “With a total floor area of about 3,000 sqm, it is one of the largest duty free stores in the world and the largest managed by Lagardère Travel Retail.
“The new store is a clear sign of Lagardère’s trust and faith in the future of the travel retail industry. In partnership with ADR, we went through many successes as well as extremely difficult situations such as the dramatic drop in traffic during the Covid pandemic. Together we completed a very ambitious project and are confident that this new store will strongly contribute to us achieving our goals.”
Marco Troncone, CEO of Aeroporti di Roma, added: “The opening of the largest Aelia Duty Free in the world at Fiumicino airport represents a significant acknowledgment of the airport’s potential, as well as an encouraging sign of recovery.
“This new shop, which is part of the ongoing renovation and expansion plan of Fiumicino, will be the gateway to the new large Domestic/Schengen area scheduled to open next spring, and will contribute to offer passengers the best experience; an experience that, even when it comes to retail, is increasingly oriented towards innovation, customization and engagement.”
