Australia’s busiest airport is set for a high-end makeover next year led by Louis Vuitton, with a further 11 new boutiques arriving alongside the flagship brand of billionaire Bernard Arnault’s luxury conglomerate LVMH.
The news comes on the same day that Sydney Airport announced plunging retail sales in the first half of 2021: they fell 41% to $62.4 million (87.4 million Australian dollars), versus the same period last year (on a non-adjusted basis). This was below the gateway’s traffic decline of 36.4% to six million passengers during the period.
Geoff Culbert, CEO of Sydney Airport, admitted that it had been a challenging six months but pointed to some hopeful signs. “We were encouraged to see traffic rebound strongly every time borders were open,” he said. “From January to April, we recovered to 65% of our pre-Covid domestic passengers and in just over two months between late April and June, trans-Tasman travel reached more than 40% of pre-Covid levels.”
The airport—a buyout target—is gambling on the arrival of Louis Vuitton to drive more passenger excitement around the high-end retail offer in the international terminal, where luxury brands have been present for several years.
Sydney Airport’s chief commercial officer, Vanessa Orth noted that before the pandemic travel-retail was evolving with “impulse buying on the way out” as travellers did much more research and pre-planning. She said: “With that in mind we’ve been seeking to attract iconic retail partners like Louis Vuitton who will drive preference and make the airport a luxury retail destination in its own right.”
Louis Vuitton’s pulling power
The French brand has certainly sparked interest from other brands, with first-timers coming aboard. They include some of Europe’s biggest names in fashion and accessories: Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Celine, Dior, Loewe, Moncler, Prada and Saint Laurent, plus the very on-trend South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster. Two more are in final negotiations.
Each one has signed up for six-year leases running until 2027, though terms were not disclosed. Their arrival next year bumps up the departure lounge’s luxury footprint by 30% and will take the total number of high-end units to 19.
The strategy to build out with luxury is risky but in the airport’s favor are findings from Swiss travel-retail research agency m1nd-set. Its 2021 survey of global travelers indicates that some high-end categories are in greater demand. Top of the list come perfumes with 41% of shoppers…
Read More: Louis Vuitton To Anchor Sydney Airport’s Luxury Precinct Amid Plummeting