ATÜ Duty Free, the partnership between Unifree Duty Free/Gebr. Heinemann and TAV Airport Holdings, has unveiled its new 800sq m Luxury Square concept in the centre of Zone 5 at Istanbul International Airport.
TRBusiness joined other members of the trade media and representatives from ATÜ Duty Free, Gebr. Heinemnn and airport operator İGA at Istanbul Airport today (27 February 2020) for the official inauguration of the new luxury area. This has been trading for around one month.
As reported in November during an exclusive interview with Ian Foster, Chief Commercial Officer, Unifree Duty Free, the aim for the zone was to create an open-plan concept.
This would be reminiscent of the Harrods department store located in Central London and Selfridges chain of high-end department shops in the United Kingdom.
The Luxury Square offers 28 brands including several clothing and accessories labels such as Burberry, Kenzo, Givenchy, Loewe, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Chloé, Marc Jacobs, Off-White, Palm Angels and Alanui.
Watches and jewellery brands including Chopard Watches and Jewellery, Messika, Piaget Watches and Jewellery, Atelier Swarovski, Tous, Bee Goddess, Gucci, APM Monaco and Rado are part of the offer. Balenciaga glasses, along with products from Cartier, Celine, Chloé, Dior, Fendi, Gucci and Saint Laurent are also available.
SUNGLASSES AND JEWELLERY OUTLETS
In addition, the Luxury Square features a 110sq m sunglasses shop and 92sq m luxury watches and fine jewellery outlet offering high-quality luxury products.
Representatives from ATÜ Duty Free, Gebr. Heinemann and airport operator İGA were present in Istanbul today (27 February) for the official opening of the new 800sq m Luxury Square concept.
Bernard Schlafstein, Director Sales, Near East and Turkey told TRBusiness at today’s launch event: “This Luxury Square perfectly fits into the whole airport which is one of the most amazing places I have seen in my life. It is definitely going to be very successful.”
He added: “This concept brings more luxury to the airport and is the missing piece in the jigsaw.”
Reflecting on the entire commercial project at Istanbul Airport, Schlafstein commented: “I am extremely proud. The first time I passed security control and passport control, the ‘wow’ factor was just unbelievable. At that time, you could see all the shops, but now there is also the multi-brand concept featuring some of the most amazing global brands.”
Speaking at the launch event, Ersan Arcan, CEO, ATÜ Duty Free said: “We are glad to open our new concept store and will be hosting valuable brands at Luxury Square with our multi-brand shopping concept where luxury brands are brought together.
“As a leading organisation in duty free store management, we proceed with our valuable experiences gained through operations across the world in the last 20 years in the luxury retail business.
“I am glad to say we are in a leading position among the companies operating in Europe in this context. At ATÜ, we operate 22 boutique and pop-up stores at Istanbul Airport and offer products from 45 different brands, each more valuable than the other.”
The Luxury Square offers 28 brands including several clothing and accessories, watches and jewellery and sunglasses labels.
Ali Şenher, CEO, Unifree Duty Free added: “We offer our services across a massive 56,000 sq m of retail space at Istanbul Airport which is dubbed the biggest infrastructure investment in Turkey.
“With the opening of Luxury Square, the rental process of the duty free spaces will be finalised. There are still 27 companies, foreign or domestic, queued for a lot at the airport. We are very happy with the interest from global and domestic companies.”
Jan Richter, Purchasing Director, Fashion & Accessories, Gebr. Heinemann declares the Zone 5 Luxury Marketplace concept an innovative breakthrough for Unifree and Gebr. Heinemann in the global travel retail market.
He commented: “The marketplace idea combines luxury monobrand stores, food & beverage and seating areas, together with a unique generic department store area.
“It fully demonstrates our wealth of expertise and knowledge in high-end luxury retailing and ability to create exceptional fashion experiences constantly pushing the boundaries.
The opening of Luxury Square marks the completion of the rental process for duty free spaces at Istanbul International Airport.
“The success of the Luxury Zone project certainly lies in the genuine and efficient collaboration between IGA, Unifree, ATÜ, Gebr. Heinemann, Plajer & Franz and our brand partners, in sharing ideas about the future of luxury retailing at airports and working on the execution of the Luxury Hall concept.”
He concluded: “We are totally committed to constantly understanding, engaging and satisfying shoppers by creating the ultimate unique shopping experience and exciting innovative retail concepts that deliver exceptional results for ourselves and our business partners.
“Blending our global and local expertise, we believe we have created a unique, innovative and exciting fashion experience for the discerning Istanbul shopper.”
Watch out for extensive interviews with Ersan Arcan, CEO, ATÜ Duty Free; Ali Şenher, CEO, Unifree Duty Free; and Jan Richter, Purchasing Director, Fashion & Accessories, Gebr. Heinemann.
