Heinemann Sydney International Airport

After completing stage one of world’s biggest standalone airport duty free store project in 2016 - which entailed the refurbishment and expansion of 9000sqm across six development stages - we were engaged again to complete another project for Heinemann, forming an integral part of the airport’s enhanced “luxury experience”.

As travellers begin their journey at Terminal 1, the Heinemann experience built by us offers a luxury gateway as travelers begin their international journeys.

As part of the redevelopment, Heinemann increased the space dedicated to beauty in order to accommodate a larger suite of brands. These include experiential and boutique spaces for La Prairie, Kylie Cosmetics, Fresh, Chloé, Hermès Beauty, Burberry and Acqua di Parma, which are also available at an Australian airport for the first time, exclusively at Heinemann. Other names on offer include Lanvin, Chanel Espace Parfum and a host of top international and Australian brands across categories.

Sydney Airport Executive General Manager of Commercial Mark Zaouk said: “Meticulous work has gone into creating a luxury shopping destination worth arriving early for, from the layout and design of the new precinct to the superior experiences available in each of the luxury stores.”

The new duty free stores are representative of Heinemann’s signature design aesthetic of creating a luxury sense of place. The new store “offers customers an iconic and unique experience” that connects back to the essence of Sydney and the beauty of its coastline.

The project a requirement to integrate multiple brands and zones within one unifying space, whilst still maintaining the strict retail guidelines of each brand. With the use of lines as a visual organisation of space, along with floor tiling and overhead zoning, visual cohesiveness was achieved whilst still showcasing separate retail zones.

There was also some coordination involved the adhere to the strict security around access, material handling and working hours. Work could only be undertaken within certain times due to the public travel, flight times and security.

Stakeholder management and collaboration with airport staff, base builders and security, along with the use of same suppliers used previously enabled a smoother process and ensured works were completed and the store opened prior to Christmas, as per the program.