While air traffic is low, Benoit Verdier, Sales and Marketing Director at Lagardère Travel Retail, explains the current challenges of Retail in stations.
GRN: Please describe your retail park.
Benoit Verdier: The Relay brand (Lagardère Group) has 1,037 stores in 14 countries. As we specialise within railway stations and airports, we are mainly based in Europe (with 370 points of sale in France). The other 120 or so units are spread over the U.S.A., Canada, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. We operate with an integrated model and very little franchising. Revenue and traffic are obviously reduced but we are not worried, as our travel retail market is resilient. When traffic returns, there is no reason why sales won’t rise again.
GRN: What are the specifics of your business model?
B.V.: On average, a store covers between 60 and 70 sq.m. GLA. In railway stations as well as in airports, about one in four passengers enter Relay, converting 50% to a sale.
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