OREANDA-NEWS. Copenhagen Airport can boast of being the first European airport to give its passengers the opportunity to shop for Italian luxury as the internationally renowned fashion brand Max Mara has decided to open a store at Copenhagen Airport.

Max Mara, recognised throughout the world as the precursor of modern pret-a-porter fashion is one of the largest international fashion houses and the first Italian clothing company. Copenhagen Airport is the first airport in Europe to offer passengers the opportunity to visit the Max Mara universe, a world of Italian luxury.

“We look forward to offering our travellers a touch of Italian zest as they travel through Copenhagen Airport. We consider it crucial that we can always offer exciting experiences to our passengers, and we are certain that Max Mara's new shop and its stylish designs will help us do just that”, - said Lise Ryevad, Director, Airport Sales at Copenhagen Airports A/S.

Real and virtual shopping meet in an Italian atmosphere

The travel retail premises have been carefully studied in order to convey the essence of the Max Mara brand, using a dynamic, appealing formula. The new concept, designed by Duccio Grassi Architects, will feature a capsule of the best the brand has to offer. Soft shades and organic materials such as wood teamed with stone and metal will help create an elegant, inviting environment. Tradition engages with innovation thanks to the technology that turns a visit to the store into a genuine sensory experience, starting from the window display, in which the traditional mannequins are replaced by a permanent video installation designed for real and virtual shopping to meet half-way.

An essential aspect of the project is the lighting. The design of a new simple, linear lighting system guarantees an impressive result for areas that, by the very nature of their location, never benefit from natural light. In this exquisite treasure chest, the product offer features a perfect balance of ready- to-wear items and accessories, in keeping with the utility luxe concept for which Max Mara is so well known.

The first Max Mara travel retail outlet is now opened in Copenhagen airport; the busiest hub in Scandinavia. With an average of 62,000 passengers a day, it is one of the 15 busiest airports in Europe. The 65-square-metre store is in keeping with the Max Mara travel retail style, with warm, inviting atmospheres with colors and surfaces that perfectly reflecting the Max Mara identity, which blends perfectly with the magnificent architecture of the Danish airport. The hallmark of the store is the striking facade, more than 6 meters high.

Facts on Max Mara

The company was formed (in 1951) with the aim of offering “haute de gamme” feminine clothing, produced according to excellent industrial processes. This is a record that the Max Mara Group has consolidated over time through a meticulous, luxurious style that has always achieved rising success on a world-wide scale, demonstrated today in more than 2,300 stores.

Sophisticated designer outlets open worldwide, not only on the most famous shopping streets of metropolises such as Milan, Paris, London, Moscow, New York and Tokyo but also in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Australia, Brazil or New Caledonia. Even in China a network of 380 sales outlets has been opened in less than ten years, extending from Beijing and Shanghai to Qingdao, Shenyang and Old Hangzhou.

The Max Mara Group has chosen to operate in 105 countries, both directly and through the other 10,000 multi-brand stores. The company has pursued international ambitions from the outset, starting with its name: Max Mara. This sharp name is easy to pronounce in all languages.

Max Mara has undertaken a program of expansion in the travel retail channel at the world's leading airports. The operation marks the company's debut in this distribution arena, with an incisive, carefully targeted strategy in terms of both products and visual merchandising

The Max Mara travel retail project will see the opening of 6 stores during 2014, reaching a total of 50 stores within the next five/six years, concentrated mainly in Europe, Asia and the USA. Already confirmed for opening are the stores in Copenhagen, Madrid (with two Weekend Max Mara outlets), Malaga and Munich.