World Duty Free, WHSmith and Dixons Travel will open the doors of their brand new departure lounge locations within a fortnight offering a much wider range of goods and services. Other confirmed retailers include Boots UK, opening one of the largest Boots stores in any UK airport, Rituals, The Body Shop, Glorious Britain, Fat Face and JD Sports, which will start trading within a matter of weeks.
Development of the brand new departure lounge at Stansted Airport is part of an £80million project to improve services and facilities for passengers using the terminal. The exciting line up of new restaurants, cafés and bars has already been announced and other aspects still to be unveiled include:
- brand new Escape Lounge off the main departure lounge and available to any passenger to pre-book irrespective of the airline travelling with
- A further 16 retail stores covering fashion, shoes, accessories and luxury goods
Beth Brewster, Retail Director for MAG and a driving force behind the major plans developed at Stansted said:
"I’m delighted to finally unveil the leading retail travel brands that have secured their position in the first phase of this multi million pound development and to give our passengers and airline partners a glimpse of what the future looks like.
"MAG have a clear ambition to not only improve services and facilities at Stansted but to make it the best airport in London and I’m very proud to see the major step changes taking place and coming to life.
"Stansted has a very exciting future. We’ve already announced the line up of cafés, bars and restaurants that will sit together in a dedicated area and are about to go out to tender to fill the remaining retail units scheduled to open next year."
Principals behind the design
Expert psychology research commissioned by MAG when they revamped Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport to identify stress points passengers experience travelling through airports, have helped form the plans for Stansted.
The brand new World Duty Free store - the biggest walk through store in terms of retail space within the Word Duty Free Group - is the flagship entrance into the new international departure lounge, easing passengers on a simple and intuitive journey past essential travel retail, popular airport shopping favourites - including indulgent high end retail - and finally to a dedicated area that will be home to all restaurant, bar and café options, as well as general seating, and located near the main exit points, meaning passengers can relax in the knowledge they are as far as they can be before departure gates are announced.
Flight information screens are being installed in all retail units and at regular intervals along the main public areas so that passengers can effortlessly view the status of their flight.
Key principals that have informed the design concepts include:
- World Duty Free as soon as you enter the departure lounge experience
- Essential travel retail (e.g. WHSmith, Boots UK, Dixons Travel) immediately after enabling passengers to shop quickly for items including health and beauty travel essentials and then continue their journey.
- Luxury goods and high street fashion in close proximity to each other making it more convenient for passengers to browse and make choices at leisure.
- Greater access to flight information screens in all public areas and in each retail unit so passengers are never more than a short walk from a screen to view the status of flights.
- Restaurants, bars and cafes in one dedicated area , located near departure lounge exit points, enabling passengers to make quick choices based on appetite and budget, then relax knowing they’re as far as they can be through the process before gate numbers are announced.
- Free WiFi and more seating for catching up on last minute emails before taking flight, as well as those all important charging points.
- Escape Lounge off the main departure lounge for passengers who enjoy that extra little treat.
Glimpse at the brands:
- World Duty Free
Doubling in size to nearly 3,000sqm - the new store will be the biggest walkthrough store in terms of retail space, within the World Duty Free Group and features innovative services and many new and exciting brands - Boots UK
Customers can get their hands on all of their health and beauty travel essentials in the new Boots UK store at Stansted, one of the largest Boots stores in any UK airport. Visitors to Stansted can choose from an extensive range of No7 products, the UK’s leading skincare brand. With Boots Soltan and Boots Pharmaceuticals alongside brands exclusively available at Boots such as Soap & Glory, Charles Worthington and Champneys, customers at Stansted have their every health and beauty need covered. There will also be a large selection of food and drink options including exclusive own brand food ranges: Shapers and Delicious, all delivered with the great value that customers love. - WHSmith
A brand new store design to make things simple for passengers, where till points will increase from 8 to 13 to minimise queues and all will be equipped with contactless payment systems. The store will offer the widest range of newspaper and magazines plus all the latest books and bestsellers. - Dixons Travel
The new store will feature both a Knowhow bar and branded Apple area with dedicated staff to assist passengers wanting to quickly set up new purchases and have them charged up ready to take flight. There will also be a separate staffed zone where passengers can have demonstrations of products on sale in store and use charging facilities for electrical devices. - The Body Shop
Will open its largest airport store in the UK with a brand new shop design. - Glorious Britain
Offering classic British gifts, souvenirs and stationary, promoting all things British! - JD Sports
New store to feature "King of Trainers" with widest range of training shoes in any UK airport. - Fat Face
The British lifestyle clothing brand is set to open a larger unit than their existing Stansted store to widen the clothing, accessory and footwear ranges on offer with a shack-style interior incorporating textured and reclaimed finishes to create an authentic feel. - Rituals
Having opened its first pilot pop-up shop at Stansted just two years ago - the global brand of luxury home and body cosmetics will expand again - doubling its existing space. The new unit expands even further the brand's 'slow shopping' attitude, encouraging shoppers to relax and unwind, sample products and enjoy a soothing cup of herbal tea or indulge in a complimentary hand and arm massage, skin consultation or makeover before taking flight.
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