RELAY FRANCE

What RELAY FRANCE does

RELAY is a French travel-retail brand operating 450+ convenience stores inside transportation hubs — airports (CDG, Orly, Nice, regional), SNCF train stations, RATP metro stations, and hospitals — serving 73 million+ travelers annually. The retail concept is unified around four product pillars: Reading (60,000+ press titles and 10,000+ books), Tech Accessories (luggage, chargers, headphones, travel essentials), Snacking & Beverages (150,000+ drink options and 180,000+ snack SKUs), and Souvenirs & Gifts. Beyond retail, RELAY operates a portfolio of cultural programs including the 49-year-old Prix RELAY des Voyageurs Lecteurs literary award, the Prix Poche RELAY x Fuze Tea pocket-book prize, the Prix RELAY/SEPM des Magazines de l'Année (10-year partnership), and the Prix RELAY de la Bande Dessinée, together engaging 20,000+ voting readers and 12 reading clubs.

The underlying operating model is concession-based physical retail — not a technology platform. Revenue is generated through one-time point-of-sale transactions across books, press, F&B, tech accessories, and souvenirs, with no disclosed digital e-commerce, no proprietary technology stack, no API, and no mobile app. Distribution is exclusively physical storefronts plus an informational store-locator website; marketing is driven by event-based cultural engagement and social media rather than digital demand generation. The company holds no patents and has no disclosed data infrastructure.

RELAY is wholly owned by Lagardère Travel Retail France SNC, the French subsidiary of Lagardère Travel Retail, itself part of the publicly listed Lagardère SA media-and-travel-retail conglomerate. Founded in 2000 as a brand and tracing its operational heritage to a 160-year-old travel-retail tradition in France, the business is currently led by Vincent Romet (Directeur Général) with Catherine Le Bel as Directrice Livre and Antoine L'Hotelier as Directeur de la Publication. In 2025 the company celebrated its 25th anniversary with the launch of HAY, a new brand mascot.

Name

RELAY FRANCE

Legal name

Lagardère Travel Retail France SNC

Website

https://relay.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

RELAY is a French travel-retail brand operating 450+ convenience stores inside airports, train stations, metros, and hospitals, selling books, press, tech accessories, F&B, and souvenirs to 73M+ travelers annually under Lagardère Travel Retail France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Levallois-Perret, Île-de-France

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales - Books and Press: Sale of books (over 10,000 titles), newspapers, and magazines (over 60,000 press titles) across all store locations in transportation hubs.
2. Retail Sales - Food and Beverage: Sale of drinks (150,000+ hot and cold beverages) and snacks (180,000 fresh, sweet, and savory items) for travelers.
3. Retail Sales - Tech and Accessories: Sale of tech accessories including luggage, bags, pillows, headphones, chargers, adapters, and travel essentials.
4. Retail Sales - Souvenirs and Gifts: Sale of local souvenirs, keychains, magnets, postcards, local specialties, decorative items, and fashion accessories.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

RELAY is a physical retail chain operating 450+ stores in French transportation hubs (airports, train stations, metro stations, hospitals) selling books, newspapers and magazines, travel tech accessories, snacks and beverages, and local souvenirs to travelers. The brand complements retail with cultural engagement programs including literary awards and reading clubs that connect travelers with books during their journeys.

Product overview

RELAY France is a retail chain operated by Lagardère Travel Retail France, with over 450 stores in France across airports, train stations, metros, and hospitals. The company has been serving travelers for 160+ years. RELAY operates as a unified retail concept organized around four core product categories: Reading (books and press with 60,000+ titles and 10,000+ books), Tech Accessories (travel accessories including bags, chargers, comfort items), Snacking & Beverages (150,000+ drinks and 180,000+ snacks), and Souvenirs (local gifts and memorabilia). Beyond retail, RELAY runs several cultural programs including the Prix RELAY des Voyageurs Lecteurs (literary award since 1978), Prix Poche RELAY x Fuze Tea (paperback award since 2024), Prix RELAY/SEPM des Magazines (magazine excellence award since 2016), and Prix RELAY de la Bande Dessinée (comic award since 2022). In 2025, RELAY introduced HAY as its mascot to celebrate 25 years of the brand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Reading / Books & Press Extensive selection of books (over 10,000 titles including novels, comics, manga, youth literature, travel guides, classics, and bestsellers) and newspapers and magazines (over 60,000 press titles) for travelers and readers visiting RELAY stores in transportation hubs.
• Tech Accessories Travel-related tech accessories including luggage, bags, cases, pillows, relaxation kits, kids accessories, headphones, adapters, chargers, and mini-sized hygiene, beauty, and first-aid products for travelers.
• Snacking & Beverages Food and beverage offerings including hot and cold drinks (water, juices, iced teas, sodas, coffees — 150,000+ options), fresh snacks (sandwiches, salads, hot meals, yogurts), and treats (chocolate bars, biscuits, chips, candy, gum — 180,000+ options) for travelers on the go.
• Souvenirs & Gifts Travel souvenirs including keychains, magnets, postcards, local specialties (chocolates, biscuits, herbal teas, wines), decorative items, children's toys, candles, scarves, and leather goods for travelers wanting to remember their destinations or buy gifts.
• Prix RELAY des Voyageurs Lecteurs Annual literary award program where readers vote on selected novels, with over 20,000 travelers voting annually and 400 passionate readers participating across 12 reading clubs. Now in its 49th edition.

Quantifiable outcome

• 73 million+ travelers served annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SEPM (Syndicat des Editeurs de la Presse Magazine)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Long-standing partnership since 2016 (10 years in 2026) for organizing Prix RELAY/SEPM des Magazines de l'année. SEPM represents magazine publishers and jointly awards best magazine categories.
• Plastic OdysseyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Environmental partnership featuring Plastic Odyssey in 560+ RELAY stores across France during the UN Ocean Conference. Included photo exhibition at Nice Côte d'Azur airport to raise awareness about plastic pollution and ocean preservation.
• Extime (Paris Airport Parking)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2025Promotional partnership offering 2 free hot beverages at RELAY stores in Paris-CDG and Paris-Orly airports for customers who book official Paris Airport parking via Extime.com.
• Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (BSF)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Ongoing charitable partnership where RELAY donates €1 to Bibliothèques Sans Frontières for each vote cast in the Prix RELAY literary awards, up to €10,000 annually. BSF works to promote access to books and combat illiteracy worldwide.
• Fuze TeaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Co-branding partnership for Prix Poche RELAY x Fuze Tea 2026. Fuze Tea sponsors the pocket book award as a 'freshness, peps and refreshing' partner aligned with travel and reading experiences.
• GleephminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Virtual library partner for sharing the Prix RELAY literary awards with targeted readers. Gleeph provides a platform for managing, rating and sharing reading recommendations.
• SNCF Retail & ConnexionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Railway partner for Prix RELAY des Voyageurs Lecteurs. Raphaël Poli, President of SNCF Retail & Connexions, serves as jury president for the 48th edition.
• Groupe ADPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Airport operator partner for literary awards. Mathieu Daubert, DGA of Groupe ADP in charge of Retail & Hospitality, serves on the jury.
• RATP Travel RetailcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Metro operator partner for literary awards. Patricia Delon, PDG of RATP Travel Retail, serves on the jury.
• VINCI AirportsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Airport partner for literary awards. Valérie Vesque Jeancard, Présidente of VINCI Railways and Directrice Déléguée of VINCI Airports, serves on the jury.
• Lagardère Travel RetailcoreOthers · 1 January 2025RELAY is a brand under Lagardère Travel Retail France, part of Lagardère SA. The company operates as part of one of the world's leading international travel retail groups active in 20+ countries across 4 continents.
• Reporters Sans FrontièresminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024Press freedom partnership featuring photo exhibition at Nice airport to support freedom of the press. Initiative to highlight journalists' work and press freedom causes.
• RoseUpminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2024Breast cancer awareness partnership during October Rose campaign. Lagardère Travel Retail France raised over €58,000 for RoseUp association supporting women with cancer, with over €20,000 from RELAY stores.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lagardère Travel Retail: Lagardère Travel Retail is the parent travel-retail division that owns RELAY, Aelia and other banners across 4 continents; it sets group strategy, supply-chain scale and concession access that directly determine RELAY France's go-to-market economics.
• Avolta (formerly Dufry): Avolta is the world's largest travel-retail operator spanning duty-free, specialty stores, F&B and convenience across hundreds of airports — a broad incumbent whose travel-convenience and book/gift concepts overlap with RELAY's assortment at global hub scale.
• SSP Group: SSP Group is a leading operator of food-and-beverage concessions in airports and train stations worldwide, directly comparable to RELAY's RATP, SNCF and ADP concession positioning and to its snacking & beverages category.

Direct peers

• Paradies Lagardère: Paradies Lagardère is the US-based airport retail subsidiary of Lagardère Travel Retail (RELAY's parent), operating newsstands, specialty retail and F&B across North American airports — sister-brand comp with identical parent and conceptually identical store mission.
• InMotion Entertainment Group: InMotion operates the largest airport-based electronics and travel-accessories retail chain in North America, sharing RELAY's tech-accessories category and concession-based hub-retail model, though with a narrower assortment.
• Aelia Duty Free: Aelia is Lagardère's duty-free travel-retail banner operating in airports globally, sharing the same parent group, concession relationships and hub-retail operating model as RELAY.
• Virgin Megastore: Virgin Megastore operates travel-retail stores in the Middle East combining books, music, tech, gifts and F&B in transit hubs — a directly comparable multi-category, venue-anchored concept with similar cultural-brand positioning.
• Hudson (Hudson Group): Hudson is the dominant airport newsstand, bookstore and travel-convenience retailer in North America (now part of Dufry/Avolta-adjacent ecosystem), operating a multi-category, multi-store network in airports — directly comparable to RELAY's hub-retail footprint and assortment.
• WHSmith: UK-headquartered WH Smith runs a global travel-retail chain of newsstands and convenience stores in airports and train stations selling books, press, food and travel accessories — the closest direct analog to RELAY France's transit-hub concept.

Regional players

• Brioche Dorée (Le Duff Group): Brioche Dorée is a French bakery-café chain operated by Le Duff Group with significant presence in French train stations and travel hubs — regional comp for RELAY's snacking & beverages category within shared transit concessions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/relaycom
• Facebookfacebook.com/relaycom
• Instagraminstagram.com/relaycom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/relay-france

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RELAY FRANCE