Next to Pret A Manger, behind a discreet glass door, lies Terminal 5’s best kept secret.
“This is one of our most exclusive handbags,” the shop assistant purrs, showing me a tiny bag in a glass case. “It’s totally unique in the UK. Notice the placement of the logo? That’s almost unheard of for Prada. A real rarity.”
The pink leather, embossed in the style of crocodile skin, gleams under the bright lights of Terminal 5. It’s a little bit Elle Woods from Legally Blondeand for a moment I am a little bit too. I ask how much it costs.
“Nineteen,” she smiles, unblinking. To be clear, that’s £19,000. It’s a ridiculous amount to me, but relatively small for the sort of travellers who routinely shop here, many of whom travel on first class flights.
I didn’t come to Heathrow to fly, I came to buy – or at least to put the personal shoppers to the test. Like Selfridges or Fenwick, the airport offers a free personal shopping service, guiding the super-rich around what is fast becoming Britain’s most upmarket shopping district. While most fliers will be rushing to Boots for a last-minute factor 50, or to WH Smith for an expensive bottle of water, a wealthy subset will spend five figures on a handbag.
The airport has a footfall that most shopping malls can only dream of. This summer, 250,000 people are expected to arrive each day, and although Heathrow doesn’t break this figure down into arrivals and departures, common sense dictates that around half, or 125,000, are departing and therefore have time to visit the shops.
Airlines from Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia fly out of Terminal 4, while carriers such as China Airlines, Emirates and Japan Airlines are based in T3. Their busy first and business class cabins attract an affluent demographic to these hubs, much as Bond Street and Knightsbridge attract a certain type of shopper. It’s no coincidence that Harrods has stores in every terminal.
In T2, Louis Vuitton is opening a new store this month, alongside Gucci, Burberry and Smythson. In T5, Cartier, Dior and Fendi sit alongside cheaper, more established brands like Kurt Geiger, JD Sports and Accessorize. T4 is quieter and more upscale, with Bulgari, Rolex and Saint Laurent occupying the wide hall. The company is also opening a new personal shopping lounge later this month, the last terminal to do so.
Champagne in the locker room
The understated glass door behind a bustling Pret feels like a suitably subtle portal into a rarefied world. Terminal 5’s personal shopping lounge – available by appointment only – is an oasis of calm amid the airport’s bustle. Outside, crowds rush to their gates, juggling passports and overpriced lattes, but inside the lounge there are complimentary glasses of champagne, relaxed decor and attentive staff.
On a soft pink velvet sofa (no plastic seats here) I am introduced to Ruweyda Dool, who oversees the personal shoppers, each of whom sees just three clients a day.
“There is no typical brief,” says Dool. “A client may be returning home from college and want a gift for their family, or traveling to a meeting and need a suit. We are briefed to find wedding attire and diamond jewelry — no request is ever the same.”
After booking the service online, customers are ‘paired’ with a personal shopping assistant and usually share their requirements via WhatsApp. Long before their flight, the assistant can send them photos of items they’re interested in, or quiz the shopkeepers about what’s in season when they travel.
“Some brands only make one or two [units] “We try to make sure it gets to the airport in time for their visit – they’re only there for a few hours, so every moment is precious.”
You may laugh, but personal shopping is serious business for Heathrow. Until 2021, foreign visitors could shop duty-free in Britain, effectively giving them a 20 percent discount on purchases. But when the agreement ended, they were much less likely to spend their money. This put pressure on the airport to ensure that the needs of its wealthiest passengers were met.
“It has had a significant impact on [our] “The luxury and beauty business in particular,” Fraser Brown, Heathrow’s retail director, told me. “Without this incentive, we need to refocus on retail [and] to offer our passengers something they can’t get anywhere else.”
Dools’ team won’t divulge which nationalities spend the most, nor the value of a typical spree, but their T5 lounge holds some clues. In the two changing rooms, the tables are festooned with oud-scented candles – a scent synonymous with the Middle East – and bottles of Penhaligon’s dark AlUla perfume (RRP £110), named after the ancient Saudi Arabian city.
Diamond watches… and the bus
The personal shopping service itself is free, with no minimum spend or obligation to buy, and the assistants earn no commission. But their knowledge is superb. My requirements are simple – “Find me some of the most sumptuous treats in Heathrow” – and, although I have no intention of buying anything, they are met perfectly.
I’m shown a Dior suitcase on wheels for £3,300, a gold Cartier Baignoire watch for around £12,000, and a Gucci “Jackie” handbag in scarlet snakeskin – one of two in Europe – for £21,970. Next up is a diamond-encrusted Rolex Yacht-Master, price on request; at Heathrow, all Rolex customers have to be pre-approved anyway, so you can’t just turn up at the airport and buy one.
Airside, personal shopping isn’t always smooth sailing, however. If those millionaire shoppers want to visit a store that isn’t in their departure terminal, they have to take a regular transit bus to the terminal with their desired store and go through security again. And it really is a bus – complete with plastic “stop” buttons and itchy fabric seats.
As I dash between boutiques, I lament the end of duty-free shopping at Dool. While a discount wouldn’t put Cartier within my reach, it wouldn’t hurt at Orlebar Brown and Reiss. She smiles at my innocence.
“But you do know that there are double prices for brands on the high street? Most have exclusive discounts on the airside – up to 20 percent off.”
It’s a pretty tempting discount. Up until now, airport retail has been a sideshow for me, but with guaranteed discounts – retailers display their discounts on little signs at the door – and champagne and assistants to help you find the right styles, it beats twiddling your thumbs at the gate.
If I actually fly next month, I’ll make another appointment – but I suspect that Prada bag will be long gone by then.