'Airports new shopping destinations. And at Malpensa more space for luxury brands'.
3' min read
3' min read
Industry setbacks aside, primarily strikes or exceptional weather events, 2024 and the first half of 2025 have been very positive for Italian and global air transport and for Italy's airports and the companies that manage them. Milan's Malpensa airport, in particular, is experiencing an acceleration not only in passenger and cargo traffic, but also in the commercial development of Terminal 1, as Luigi Battuello, chief commercial officer of Sea Aeroporti, explains.
In recent decades, the world's most important airports have undergone a profound transformation in the area of shops and catering. At Malpensa, what are the most recent innovations?
"We are adding new pieces every day, almost, and when we reach a goal, we focus on others. I like to say that airports are 'living organisms', if not living: every day people pass through the airports and we try to give them a better and better experience, whatever the reason for their journey. For Terminal 1, we have just achieved a goal we had been working on since before the Covid emergency, which broke out in February 2020: the opening of two boutiques of two of the best-known and most prestigious high-end brands, Louis Vuitton and Dior, which over the years have been very selective in their investments in airport shops'.
As a development model can one think of Heathrow's T5?
"That London terminal is certainly exceptional and Louis Vuitton has a space there that rivals its boutiques in luxury cities. But even at Malpensa, the Vuitton and Dior shops are as sophisticated and welcoming as the others of the two maisons. I travel all the time for conventions and it is right to be inspired by experiences abroad. However, I am convinced that Malpensa does not need to copy anyone: we are finding our way and the right mix of commercial and catering offerings'.
Some numbers for 2024?
"In 2024 the gross turnover of the retail and food part of the Linate and Malpensa airports grew by 14.7% to over 470 million. In the two airports there are 30 thousand square metres dedicated to shops, 99 in all, and to catering, with 64 food & beverage points. The decision to focus on high-end brands, particularly at Malpensa, is also explained by another fact: the receipt of purchases in luxury boutiques is on average 13 times the receipt of the rest of non-food retail. This proves that the idea that people don't shop hard at the airport is behind us. The situation has changed due to a virtuous circle that has been triggered, we might say: domestic and international traffic has increased and so has the average time spent at the airport. The brands, luxury and otherwise, have been good at creating increasingly welcoming environments and collaborating with the companies that manage the airports on services, starting with tax free".
An important indicator, purchases made by people with non-EU nationality. Can you give us a few more numbers?
"In 2024 the VAT refunded at Malpensa was over 140 million, against 1.4 million transactions, which in turn equates to around 19 billion euros of tax free shopping. As for the high-end customers, from reading boarding passes, we know that they have as their destination, and thus presumably come from, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Qatar'.
