Interview by Dora Pusztai
ACROSS: Düsseldorf Airport recently awarded Lagardère Travel Retail a master concession covering large parts of its retail and food & beverage offer. What were the key strategic objectives behind this decision?
Pia Klauck: It is our ultimate goal to deliver a consistent, high-quality and future-oriented experience for our customers. With a master concession by Lagardère especially with the books & press offer, so we went into partnership with one of the strongest (intl.) brands in this segment and market. With that we can ensure a holistic management of this specific commercial offer with one single partner and well known and trustful travel retail brands. Lagardère can leverage efficiency gains and stronger investment capabilities which in the end serves and follows the passenger through the entire customer journey.
What advantages does a master concession model offer compared with a multi-operator approach?
This approach in this specific category shows an integrated approach in the concept development and offers across a lot of relevant travel retail categories, with an optimized use of space based on an overall performance in the stores. With the well known international brands by Lagardère such as “Relay” a more consistent customer journey can be provided throughout the airport. We can see faster decision-making and implementation of processes which leaves a greater capacity for innovation within the concept.
Travel retail is undergoing profound change. How do you see the balance between retail, food & beverage, services and passenger experience evolving within the airport environment?
We are seeing a clear shift as traditional retail is becoming more experience driven and service-oriented – services are increasingly integrated into the commercial mix. Food & Beverage is gaining more importance as it has become a key driver of dwell-time and customer satisfaction. This has major impact on the entire experience at the airport.
“Food & Beverage is gaining more importance as it has become a key driver of dwell-time and customer satisfaction.”
So, in general, the focus is moving towards a holistic passenger experience, and airports are evolving into destinations themselves rather than purely transit spaces.
The new concepts combine international brands with regional offerings. How important is local identity in creating a distinctive airport experience and driving commercial performance?
Local identity is a critical success factor. It caters to the needs of various target audiences. It creates authenticity and differentiation in an international environment, and it reinforces the airport’s role as a gateway to the region. Regional brands can often generate a stronger emotional engagement and purchasing intent.
At the same time, local identity is increasingly linked to sustainability. Regional products and concepts support shorter supply chains, reduce transport-related emissions, and align with growing passenger expectations for more responsible consumption. This makes them not only culturally relevant but also environmentally meaningful.
A well-balanced mix of global brands and local concepts is therefore essential for DUS to create a compelling and successful commercial offering—one that combines international appeal with regional authenticity and sustainability.
Commercial success is increasingly linked to understanding passenger behavior. How do passenger flow analysis, boarding pass data and customer insights influence Düsseldorf Airport’s retail strategy?
Data plays an increasingly important role in the execution of our retail strategy. Passenger forecasts as well as passenger flow analyses help us identify the optimal placement of retail and F&B units. Customer insights support assortment planning and concept design. Additional information such as destination or reason for travel allows us to further segment our customers and provide more personalized offers.
At the same time, data is not everything. It also requires extensive experience and a deep understanding of the passenger and their entire customer journey. Equally important is the continuous observation of trends and the ability to draw the right conclusions for our offerings and concepts. Only by combining data-driven insights with market understanding and operational expertise can we make well-founded decisions.
This enables us to support our partners in the best possible way and to be successful together.
Our approach is therefore increasingly data-driven, but always complemented by expertise, trend awareness and practical experience—with the clear goal of maximizing customer satisfaction and sustainably increasing revenue potential.
Data-sharing and AI-driven personalization are becoming major topics in travel retail. How do you see technology changing the relationship between airports, retailers and passengers?
Passengers increasingly expect a seamless and personalized journey through the airport and especially AI- and data-driven personalization enable such targeted and real time offers. Data sharing and further digitalization enhance collaboration between all stakeholders.
We see a future where a more integrated ecosystem uses data intelligently to create value for all parties.
Recent years have highlighted the importance of resilience in travel retail. Has this changed the way airports think about concession structures, Minimum Annual Guarantees (MAGs) and risk-sharing with commercial partners?
Past crises and developments have highlighted the importance of individual concession structures always depending on target groups, offers and needs. In general, there are more conversations about risk and reward sharing between airports and partners with focus on long term, resilient partnerships.
Airports traditionally focus on passenger volume. From a retail perspective, how important are factors such as traveler profile, destination mix and spending potential compared with overall traffic numbers?
Passenger volume remains important, in addition to travelers’ profiles like reason for traveling, frequency of travel, spending potential and nationality mix as well as destination mix
These factors significantly influence revenue per passenger, making demand quality just as important as quantity.
Which KPIs matter most when evaluating commercial success today? Is the focus still primarily on revenue and spend per passenger, or are metrics such as dwell time, customer satisfaction and engagement becoming equally important?
While traditional KPIs remain relevant, the focus is broadening. Spend per passenger / revenue per passenger are still core metrics but conversion rates as well as Customer satisfaction play an increasingly important role in success evaluation.
Düsseldorf Airport has stated its ambition to become one of Europe’s leading airports. Looking specifically at travel retail, what does success look like five years from now?
Our vision in travel retail is to be recognized as a “Destination of Excellence” and as a leading European travel retail destination, offering a portfolio that sets benchmarks in quality and passenger experience. This directly supports our three strategic objectives: delivering an excellent airport, acting in a sustainably responsible way, and creating value for employees and the region.
International recognitions such as the Skytrax Award 2025 confirm that we are on the right track and that our strategic direction is delivering tangible results.
We aim to achieve this by ensuring high customer satisfaction, providing a best-in-class and innovative retail and F&B offering, and maintaining strong, collaborative partnerships with all partners at DUS — thereby securing sustainable revenue growth. At the same time, we strive to operate a highly advanced, data-driven commercial ecosystem. Our ambition is to position Düsseldorf Airport as a benchmark for innovative airport commercial concepts, combining economic success with sustainability and strong regional integration.
Originally published in ACROSS Magazine Issue 2/2026
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