Johnnie Walker unveils new Heathrow store

Diageo has revealed a concept store for its Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection at London Heathrow Airport – part of the group’s “most significant investment in travel retail”.

Diageo has revealed a new concept store for its Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4

Opened at the airport’s Terminal 4, the site conveys the journeys of the brand founders of John Walker & Sons, who were said to have travelled across the famous trade routes of the world during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Designers based the concept store on the company’s London headquarters in the 1890s, a building close to the docklands where employees would depart on journeys around the world.

It features a tasting bar for three bottles in the Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection: The Spice Road, The Gold Route and The Royal Route.

“The scale of this concept store represents our commitment to our highly valued travel retail consumers,” said Paul Downing, key accounts director for Diageo Global Travel.

“We are continuously looking for ways to engage with busy travellers. The concept store is a striking spectacle that brings to life the brand’s heritage in travel, exciting and inspiring customers on their journeys.”

The new store, which will be open until the end of May 2014, was created by Diageo in partnership with World Duty Free Group.

The Explorers’ Club Collection launched in October 2012 and marked Diageo’s biggest ever investment in travel retail to date.

The first series to launch as part of the collection was the Trade Route Series, which includes The Spice Road, The Gold Route and The Royal Route.