LS Travel Retail has announced an increase of 8% in its sales for the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2011.
“Our ambitious policy of investing in stores and our on-going efforts to recruit and train staff enable us to perform at a very high level in relation to our environment,” says Dag Rasmussen, CEO of Lagardé¨re Services. “This trend is expected to accelerate further in the coming months, thanks to our latest developments, notably in Rome as of October and in Xi’an in China.”
The time frame has included a number of events. For instance, in France, duty free and luxury sales were up 23% by the end of June because of the acquisition of fashion outlets at the Paris airports, the modernization of retail outlets and commercial initiatives undertaken in French airports. In Germany, business increased 10% through the opening of six airport outlets. In Poland, business was up 19% because of the favorable effects of Euro 2012, with a marked rise in traffic and the sale of souvenirs. Sales were up 20% in Romania and Bulgaria because of the expansion of the network, and in Spain, duty free and luxury business sales increased 10%, mostly attributed to sales in fashion outlets in Malaga and Alicante. In Switzerland, the group acquired Airport Fashion on March 1 at Geneva-Cointrin International (GVA).
In the Asia-Pacific region, turnover has increased by 43% in Asia and business activity in the Pacific region is up by 4.5%.
Retail trade in North America is up 2%.
