Fred Creighton, Avolta’s CEO for UK & Ireland commented, “We are extremely proud of the valued and longstanding partnership we have with the Edinburgh airport team and are delighted to join them to officially open this exceptional new store. It conveys such a strong sense of place and really reflects the great spirit of Scotland. But more than that – it delivers an engaging, immersive and memorable instore experience to our valued customers. At Avolta, we are committed to making travelers happier and we’re confident that this exciting new store space will do just that!” 

Gail Taylor, Chief Commercial Officer (Non Aero) at Edinburgh Airport said, “We are thrilled with this refurbishment to our World Duty Free store with Avolta. It provides an enhanced and contemporary entrance to our departure lounge as we strive to provide the best experience for passengers. By delivering an increased footprint, and introducing a host of fantastic new brands, there will now be more choice than ever before. The focus on Scottish produce is also something we’re really passionate about, allowing people to experience the very best our country has on offer and take a little piece of Scotland away with them. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Avolta, delivering even more fantastic experiences for our passengers in the years to come.”

An impactful digitized fascia at the store entrance leads into an extensive World of Whiskies area – a key category for the World Duty Free store in Scotland’s busiest airport. Strong personalizations have been introduced for many key whisky brands, and the store also includes impressive shop-in-shop formats for Glenmorangie and Johnnie Walker. 

These “boutique” style spaces invite customers to explore the full collections of exceptional whiskies each distillery has to offer, with tasting bars at which different drams can be discovered and sampled. Additional services such as bottle engraving with Glenmorangie, or personalization of leather luggage tags with a customer’s initials by Johnnie Walker, all add a personal touch and make each purchase unique.

Another striking introduction in the re-designed store space is the Edinburgh Gin Boutique.  The 20sqm boutique is inspired by the design details of Edinburgh Gin’s new distillery and visitor center, due to open later this year in Edinburgh’s city center. 

A central bar area offers an immersive experience for customers with tastings across the range of Edinburgh Gin expressions. Working in close partnership with the brand, Avolta has been able to offer a series of exclusive Edinburgh gin expressions to its customers. The most recent one which has been created exclusively for the new Edinburgh Gin Boutique is “The Meadows”.  Inspired by the beautiful park in central Edinburgh, affectionately known to locals as The Meadows, it offers customers the opportunity to take a truly unique taste of Scotland home with them.

The Beauty area has been transformed with more space, stronger personalizations, and the introduction of several new and exciting brands such as Charlotte Tilbury, and Kylie. In response to the ongoing customer demand for more products linked to wellbeing, health and relaxation, a Wellness area has also been incorporated into the main store focused on brands which use more ethically sourced, organic or natural products, as well as environmentally friendly packaging.

Internationally recognized tri axis brands such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Lancôme are also still very much sought after and well represented, with many of the counters offering digital technologies and augmented reality tools so that customers can “virtually try on” cosmetics, new looks and products. 

The luxury area showcasing watches, jewelry, sunglasses and accessories has been made bigger and bolder as part of the refurbishment, with strong personalizations for key brands such as Rayban and Oakley. 

A strong sense of place is evident in the Souvenirs and Confectionery areas, with some of the most iconic food and confectionery brands associated with Scotland available. Customers can take a taste of Scotland home with them as they choose from the extensive ranges of Walker’s shortbreads, Tunnock’s Tea Cakes, Irn Bru, or Mrs Tilly’s Tablet to name but a few! Quirky and unique designs by the Scottish artist Gillian Kyle adorn a selection of premium souvenir items, offering customers another way to celebrate the best bits of Scotland from its beloved brands, to its shaggy highland cows and cute Scottie dogs!

As customers exit the main World Duty Free store they discover one final surprise – a standalone Haute Parfumerie store!  Avolta introduced this premium fragrance concept store to meet the ongoing customer demand for more niche and luxury fragrances.  In the 57sqm boutique space, premium fragrances from renowned fragrance houses such as Penhaligon’s, Creed and La Labo are available. The luxurious store space, combined with engaging and interactive technologies, all underpinned with expert and knowledgeable staff, takes the whole experience of discovering and purchasing a fragrance to another, and much more personalized level!