London Gatwick Airport has completed a £40m retail transformation at its South Terminal departure lounge; a move which significantly improves the shopping experience for passengers.
As part of the final phase of the South Terminal departure lounge project, an additional ten new and refreshed retail stores have been opened.
The new stores, which include Zara, Ted Baker, and Snow+Rock, were opened based on passenger feedback for a more premium and stronger mainstream offering of both national and international brands, according to the airport.
The 4,500ft² Zara outlet will be the largest UK airport store to date; the 1,000ft² Snow+Rock is another airport first, offering a wide range of footwear, accessories and clothing, while the new Ted Baker store spans an area of 1,000ft².
Other stores include Superdry, Fat Face, Best of the Best, London News, Mango, Joules and Victoria’s Secret.
The first phase of the project, which was completed in August 2013, involved the opening of eleven new and refreshed stores including two airport firsts; Aspinal of London and Ernest Jones, and a 6,500ft² flagship Harrods store focusing on fashion and accessories.
Other stores in the first phase include Kurt Geiger, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Case Luggage, Sunglass Hut, World of Whiskies, Caviar House, and Dixons.
In addition to the first phase, the new shopping area now includes a total of 21 new stores.
London Gatwick retail head Spencer Sheen said: “Our new retail space not only demonstrates our forward thinking, but also our desire to deliver on what our passengers ask for, be it a luxury department store or a high-street favourite.
“The results we have seen so far speak for themselves as more than 80% of our passengers have rated the selection of retail outlets available as ‘excellent’ and ‘good’.”
According to the airport, Gatwick’s retail strategy was based on passenger feedback following extensive research which showed that 56% of passengers wanted more high street and international brands, 38% wanted a premium department store and 22% wanted more designer brands.
