‘A new standard of excellence in travel retail’ – ARI and ANA/Vinci Airports celebrate transformation of Portugal Duty Free store network

PORTUGAL. Leading travel retailer ARI, together with partners Vinci Airports and ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, has officially unveiled its new-look Portugal Duty Free stores, hailing them as setting “a new standard of excellence in global travel retail”.

On Thursday, the partners saluted the openings with a stylish celebration at the magnificent Pátio da Galé event venue in Lisbon under the theme ‘Flying Higher Together’.

Guests included ARI, ANA/Vinci Airports, refurbishment and design partners, and global and local suppliers, plus media including The Moodie Davitt Report. Click here for our related story on Faro Duty Free.

In 2022, ARI was named joint-venture partner for ANA’s duty free and duty paid retail concessions across almost 10,000sq m of space at eight airports in Portugal – Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira Islands (Madeira and Porto Santo), and Azores Islands (Ponta Delgada, Santa Maria and Horta), with the contract beginning on 1 June that year.

A major programme of refurbishment has continued since, with a key design aim to convey the essence of Portugalidade – reflecting Portugal’s landscape to its artistry and heritage, to the flavours and aromas of its world-renowned gastronomy – and an ambition to create a memorable retail experience for passengers.

Each location has a uniquely crafted identity, allowing passengers at Lisbon Duty Free, Porto Duty Free, Faro Duty Free, Madeira Duty Free and Azores Duty Free to experience the vibrancy of the local culture at each airport.

Standout features from the stores include the Lisbon Number 28 Tram at Lisbon Duty Free and a vintage Volkswagen California Camper Van in Faro Duty Free (The Moodie Davitt Report toured both locations this week with ARI) – providing ‘Instagrammable’ moments for passengers and housing local gifts and souvenirs.

Portugal Duty Free offers over 1,000 locally-produced products, around 250 of them exclusive to the retailer. The Sabores de Portugal in-store concept celebrates the finest Portuguese cuisine, including Pasteis de Nata pastries, delivered daily to the airport. The Port Cellar concept carries the country’s best port wine offering, said ARI, with over 230 local port wines in an immersive cellar-style experience.

The international brand offering has also been enhanced across the network with notable additions such as Charlotte Tilbury, Le Labo, Sol de Janeiro and Creed (a Portugal-exclusive).

Lisbon Duty Free is also home to the Pre-Loved boutique, featuring luxury fashion accessories, plus an expanded Victoria’s Secret store and a recently-opened Lego store, part of an extensive wider speciality shop network in T1.

Sustainability was a key component of the store refurbishments, and the store design (led by The Design Solution), fit-out and ranging reflects ESG commitments at ARI and ANA/Vinci. This includes a dedicated ‘Eco Area’ at Lisbon Duty Free, housing over 100 sustainably-sourced products and offering environmentally-friendly products for the conscious shopper, from water bottles to stationery to souvenirs and gifts.

Digital solutions are also prominent and help lift the customer experience, from entrance through to purchase. The sense of place offering is enhanced with digital store entrances, where arching LCD panel walls showcase footage of the local landscapes and landmarks, adding to the sensory experience.

Over 2,000 LED panels and over 450 LCDs are in use across the Portugal Duty Free stores, while newly installed self-service checkouts and over 40 mobile POS units add convenience.

ARI CEO Ray Hernan commented, “We are incredibly proud to showcase the new Portugal Duty Free stores, which we believe have raised the bar for our industry in terms of exceptional retail experiences.

“We have demonstrated how ARI is committed to delivering on our promises, taking concepts and making them a reality – the designs, renders and plans presented in our original tender bid to ANA/Vinci Airports have now been brought to life for passengers.

“I must also commend our teams, both global and local – bringing Portugal Duty Free to life has truly been a global, collaborative effort. Looking back to 1 June 2022, stores were flipped in just 9 hours, and just 63 working days after the awarding of our contract. Over 600 new colleagues joined our business overnight, each of whom share our passion for excellence and dedication to delivering ‘joy on your way’ to passengers.

“Collaborative partnerships are the foundation of our business, and we have big ambitions to continue to grow our operations in Portugal together with our partners, ANA/Vinci Airports.”

“The Portugal Duty Free experience is like no other,” said Portugal Duty Free CEO Alain Brun.

“We have delivered an unrivalled global travel retail experience across each of our stores, bringing sense of place to new heights. The Portuguese have a wonderful sense of pride, and we have captured this throughout our stores with a modern airport shopping experience that also celebrates culture and heritage. This would not have been possible without the commitment of our teams, whose dedication to excellence and exceeding customer expectations continues to inspire me.”

ANA/Vinci Airports Chief Executive Officer Thierry Ligonnière added: “Completing the duty-free store renovations marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to enhancing the passenger experience, and PTDF, supported by ARI and Vinci Airports has delivered an incredible work.

These renewed spaces offer a diverse retail selection, providing a tranquil shopping experience that elevates every journey. As part of ANA/Vinci Airports broader investment in upgrading airport infrastructure across our network in Portugal, this transformation reflects our dedication to creating world-class environments while supporting the economic development of the regions where our airports operate. We are proud to welcome travellers to these exceptional new spaces.”

Walking and talking Portugal Duty Free

At Lisbon Airport Terminal 1, the main store features colour, variety, multiple stop points for tastings and promotions, plus plenty of photo-worthy moments to engage and surprise the traveller.

Highlights include the powerful emphasis on local goods, many exclusive to the retailer, which are amplified by an energetic programme of tastings and promotions.

Portuguese gastronomy, wines and ports lead the offer here, and crucially ARI/Vinci has aimed to deliver sense of place that differs from Madeira to Porto to Faro to Lisbon, with each offering its own shopping bag design, its own mascots design flourishes touches such as different coloured floor tiles.

In Lisbon other key contributions come from a growing beauty range, allocated generous space in the new store, plus international spirits and tobacco, an all-important staple in Lisbon (even more so in T2) as well as other airports such as Porto.

Click on the icon above to hear ARI CEO Ray Hernan talk about the excitement of completing the recent major store transformations in Portugal.

Reflecting on the transformation of the stores over the past two years, Ray Hernan told The Moodie Davitt Report: “It’s very exciting. We are delighted to have delivered on the vision we set out and I’m very proud of what the team here in Portugal Duty Free, supported by the team in Dublin, have done in creating these world-class stores.

“We have really tried to embrace the sense of Portugal in a style that reflects each location, with many complete and Porto to be delivered by year end.

“There is a lot of activity around great local products – we have over 1,000 local items in the Lisbon store, and the place is reflected in the stores, ceilings, tiling and fit-out and the vision has been brought to life in a way that captivates the customer.

“Every retailer has the challenge of trying to increase dwell time in the stores. We aim to slow the passenger down and make the environment as stress-free as possible. Each category has its own activity, from the Lisbon tram selfie station to sampling and activation zones where they can view and taste these fantastic products.”

Of performance in the €300 million-plus-turnover Portugal Duty Free business to date, he said: “We are ahead of business plan. The stores that have been refurbished are performing very well, especially in Lisbon and Faro, and are showing double-digit growth after the upgrades.

“It’s not only due to passenger increases and the new stores, but is also down to a well-trained, motivated team of people here. All of the Portugal Duty Free team feel proud to be part of the wider ARI group and the Vinci Airports group.”

Some tweaks will be made in Lisbon on passenger flow in the main T1 store, on ensuring some brands have greater visibility, and on striking the right balance between highlighting the many hero brands in key categories such as beauty while at the same time promoting value to the consumer. Portugal Duty Free’s fragrance offers at €20, €30 and €40 – prominent both in Lisbon and Faro in spaces close to the tills – are vital in this respect.

“The customer at the moment is seeking value and you must have those well-priced ranges to draw them in,” said Hernan.

On the JV structure with ANA/Vinci Airports, Hernan said: “The relationship has been very successful, with trust built very quickly. That in turn opens doors and means there is a lot of collaborative decision-making, which you need in the airport environment.

“We are very happy with how it has gone from all perspectives. And of course we would be happy to explore other opportunities with Vinci Airports in future.”