Lojas Francas unveils second phase of expansion

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The Portuguese operator is preparing its Lisbon stores for anticipated increases in traffic during the Euro 2004 football tournament

Lojas Francas de Portugal (LFP) will open a 130sq m (1,400sq ft) luxury gift boutique and a 40sq m (430sq ft) children's shop alongside its expanded main shop at Lisbon airport, which opened earlier this month. The airport is redeveloping its facilities to cater for the influx of passengers during the Euro 2004 football championships in June.

The new 1,240sq m (13,342sq ft) main airside shop more than doubles the size of the old outlet. The shop has been conceived under the Travel Shopping concept, which offers equivalent prices to duty-free rates for ryo tobacco, cigars and cigarettes and discounts of up to 20% on other categories. For the first time personalised space is devoted to the main port wine producers in the Taste of Portugal area and to the seven major table wine exporters. There is also a walk-in humidor that will showcase Cuban and Dominican handmade cigars.

The gift boutique will sell a range of watches, sunglasses, writing instruments and leather goods featuring brands such as Ferragamo and Dolce & Gabbana. The children's shop will contain confectionery, games, sports items, fragrances and toys. Both shops will open before the end of May.

?We expect the new [main] shop to improve our passenger penetration,? said LFP promotions manager Paula Borges. ?The new shop is on the first floor and the passport control on the ground level so we hope this will draw more passengers in. Previously the shop was on the ground floor close to passport control so passengers were inclined to go through more quickly.?

LFP is a joint venture between Tapger (part of the TAP airline group) and The Nuance Group. It operates 18 shops in three airports in Portugal and two in the Azores Islands. The company also operates the inflight concessions onboard the carriers TAP, SATA and YES. In 2003 LFP posted turnover of Eu82.5m ($99m).