Just behind Pret A Manger, behind a discreet glass door, lies Terminal 5’s best-kept secret. “This is one of our most exclusive handbags,” purrs the shop assistant, showing me a mini satchel in a glass enclosure. “It’s totally unique in the UK.
See the placement of the logo? That’s almost unheard of for . A real rarity.” The pink leather, embossed in the style of crocodile skin, gleams under Terminal 5’s bright lights.
It’s a bit Elle Woods from , and for a moment it’s a little bit me, too. I ask how much it costs. “Nineteen,” she smiles, without flinching.
To be clear, that’s £19,000. It’s a lot of money for me, but relatively small change to the kinds of travellers who routinely shop here, many of whom are passing through on first class flights. I’ve come to not to fly, but to buy – or at least to put its personal shoppers to the test.
Because just like Selfridges or Fenwick, the airport offers a free personal shopping service, which guides its super-rich travellers around what is fast becoming Britain’s ritziest retail quarter. While most flyers nip into Boots for some last-minute factor 50, or to WH Smith for an expensive bottle of water, a tiny proportion will spend five figures on a handbag. The airport enjoys footfall that most shopping centres could only dream of, and this summer this figure might be its busiest yet.
Up to 250,000 people might pass through every day, and while Heathrow doesn’t split this figure into arrivals and de.