Heathrow's Shift To Blended Retail Is A Big Win For Relay And WH Smith
So-called 'blended retail' is coming to London Heathrow Airport following a review of the airport's convenience/travel essentials retail offering to passengers. As a result, new concepts from France's Relay brand, owned by Lagardère Travel Retail (LTR), and from existing partner, WH Smith, will be launching soon.
The Relay fascia is debuting belatedly in the U.K., having already spread to many airports in Europe and the United States, with the latter market being served via LTR's subsidiary, Paradies Lagardère. In total, the brand is present in approximately 300 airports worldwide, with the most recent launch at Türkiye's Antalya Airport.
The new deal with the two retailers will lead to the implementation of blended stores appearing across all of Heathrow's four terminals (T2, T3, T4, and T5).
From summer 2026, Relay will launch a blended travel essentials offer in Terminal 2—The Queen's Terminal, where four stores will have a total footprint of more than 14,6000 square feet. In the upper-level departures area, a 4,500-square-foot unit will have a pharmacy alongside a mix of travel essentials. The largest of lower-level shops (at 5,300 square feet) in the main retail thoroughfare will offer books, souvenirs, toys, and to-go food and drink. LTR will also operate a satellite 'Discover' souvenir concept store and a landside Relay shop in the check-in hall.
The CEO of LTR UK & Ireland, Peter Newbould, said he was hopeful the Heathrow contract would open doors. 'By making Relay a success at Heathrow, we will open up further opportunities to develop our three business lines across the U.K. market,' he said. LTR's new joint-CEO, Frédéric Chevalier, has described Heathrow as 'renowned for its progressive and inventive approach to commercial activities,' and having Relay stores there will certainly shine a light on the concept, which is expanding.
Meanwhile, WH Smith gets the bulk of the new concessions. It will open travel essentials stores in T3 and T4, and extend its presence in Terminal 5. The U.K.-listed retailer will also become the main airside health and beauty provider in T3 and T4, and will provide a pharmacy offer across each of the three terminals. A coffee and bakery offer will also be part of the mix. The change, once completed, means WH Smith will operate more than 20 stores at the London hub.
Research drives Heathrow move
Heathrow said that the changes are based on feedback from thousands of passengers about how retail can support time-pressed travellers. Hence the decision to put key product categories such as news, books, health and beauty under one roof in each terminal.
The airport's retail director, Fraser Brown, said the new retail strategy would be 'transformational.' On extending its relationship with WH Smith, he added: 'For nearly 80 years, Heathrow and WHSmith have had a successful partnership, bringing new and innovative retail experiences for passengers.'
WH Smith has tried-and-tested blended retail stores at Heathrow. This one is in T2.
Andrew Harrison, CEO of WH Smith UK Travel, described its one-stop-shop format as 'a proven model' and added that the company would, following this deal, be 'taking a significant step forward' in its health, beauty, and pharmacy proposition at Heathrow.
Research commissioned by WH Smith in 2023 to understand passenger views on its offering at the London hub identified a demand for a broader essentials offering where passengers could find a range of products in one place.
The same year, Heathrow commissioned some of its own research using Trinity McQueen, a consultancy specializing in behavioral insights and market research. It found that the strongest motivator for passengers to pick up travel essentials from the airport is knowing they could get everything they needed quickly (just under a quarter of 1,075 participants said this).
A week ago, Heathrow unveiled a sizeable £10 billion ($13.5 billion), five-year investment plan to improve service levels. As part of the fully privately financed project that will add— for the first time in a decade—new terminal space for lounges, shops, and restaurants within its terminals.
On completion, assuming the airport gets approval from Britain's civil aviation authority, Heathrow will be able to serve 10 million more passengers a year, a 12% increase in capacity. This will support airlines' growth plans and help keep the hub in pole position as Europe's busiest gateway.
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