Retail operator Aelia Duty Free, a subsidiary of Lagardere Travel Retail, has opened three new concept stores in the duty free retail area at Auckland Airport in New Zealand.
The new concepts include the Top Shelf Bar, Johnnie Walker House and the New Zealand Cellar Door. The Top Shelf Bar offers customers the opportunity to purchase premium, top shelf liquors in a luxury bar environment at NZ$5 (US$3.40) per 30ml drink. If customers like their drink, they can purchase a bottle and the NZ$5 (US$3.40) will automatically be deducted from their purchase.
Ivo Favotto, executive general manager, duty free and luxury Pacific, Lagardere Services, said, “The Top Shelf Bar is an exciting new initiative for us. Brands have typically been reluctant to sample top-shelf product in a duty free environment. The Top Shelf Bar allows premium product to be sampled in a premium way because it’s a full, on-premise style bar, serving full drinks not tasting samples, in glass, prepared by expert mixologists. In this way, we can get premium product into customers’ hands and trade them up. It is a key part of our premiumization strategy. The Top Shelf Bar concept was born after extensive consultation with brands, and we are delighted to have partners such as Diageo, Pernod Ricard, William Grants and Campari on board.”
The Johnnie Walker House in Auckland Airport is the only Johnnie Walker House in the Pacific region, the fourth at an airport, and only the eighth in the world. The store will stock a wide range of Johnny Walker whiskeys including bottles from the 1920 Epic Dates Collection and Johnnie Walker House Master Blenders Collection.
The New Zealand Cellar Door concept has been created in partnership with Bob Campbell, one of New Zealand’s foremost wine critics, and will offer a specially curated selection of exclusive, rare and premium quality wines from New Zealand. Passengers can use the Enotec sampling machine to taste popular wines such as Pegasus Bay Pinor Noir and Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot for a price of NZ$5 (US$3.40) for two 20ml drinks.