Lonely Planet will open its first ‘concept store' at Sydney airport next year, the travel publisher has announced.

Part of the airport's $500 million redevelopment, the shop will serve as ‘an information hub and a travel store as well as a bookstore,' spokeswoman Simone McNamara told WBN.
‘It's going to sell the full range of Lonely Planet books, plus a range of high-quality travel accessories--anything from laptop bags to notebooks, etc--and it's also going to have what we're calling an interactive portal, which would be linked up to Lonely Planet's website and digital products.'

Lonely Planet has developed the store in partnership with the airport's management and Lagardère Services Asia Pacific, which operates over 100 retail stores through the Asia Pacific region.

Lagardere Services CEO Scott Raisin said the store could be the first of many. ‘I think the end result will be something quite remarkable that we will be able to expand in Australia and beyond,' he said.

McNamara pointed out that the store was 'airside' in the international terminal. 'So it will be accessing people who are travelling and just about to embark on their journeys,' she said.

http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2008/07/08840/

This article from Thorpe Bowker's Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: lonely planet