Auckland International Airport partners with French retailer Lagardère in duty-free shake-up

French global travel retailer Lagardère has won the contract to operate Auckland International Airport's duty-free stores from July 2025.

Auckland International Airport’s duty-free stores are set for a big makeover which will see the arrival of top global brands under a new partnership with French global travel retailer Lagardère.

Lagardère successfully won an eight-year contract to operate the airport’s four duty-free stores from July, Auckland Airport said in an announcement to the NZX this morning.

The largest airport in the country says passengers can expect to see the next evolution of duty-free shopping at Auckland Airport.

The new partnership is still subject to Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approval, but is expected to begin on July 1.

Auckland Airport chief commercial officer Mark Thomson said Lagardère would transform the duty-free experience over the coming years, bringing an extensive suite of top global brands and undertaking a full refurbishment of all duty-free stores, including a major transformation of departures.

“Over nine million international travellers flow through Auckland Airport every year and we know they’re looking for great prices, world-class brands, and quality retail experiences as part of their journey,” Thomson said.

“While we were impressed with the quality of all the proposals we received, Lagardère stood out with the most compelling offer that aligns with Auckland Airport’s commitment to offer travellers an exceptional customer experience, and celebrate the best of Aotearoa New Zealand and the world.”

Thomson said Lagardère already has 10 years’ experience at Auckland Airport, most recently as part of the joint venture company LagardèreAWPL, trading as Aelia Duty Free.

“As part of our new partnership, the duty-free offer will transition from LAWPL’s Aelia and become a bespoke proposition for Auckland, operated by the separate entity Lagardère Travel Retail.”

The more than 400 people currently working across duty-free stores at Auckland Airport under the LagardèreAWPL joint venture are expected to transition to the new duty-free operator from July.

In 2023, Auckland Airport transitioned to a single-duty-free operator.

“The double up of products we saw in a dual model has now been removed, and this has enabled a 40% increase in the number of brands on offer to customers over this period,” Thomson said.

“Local New Zealand products also grew by 30%, providing customers with a much-improved product offering.”

Headquartered in Paris, Lagardère is one of the largest global duty-free operators with duty-free operations across 28 countries and in 105 airports.

Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics including retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.