ACTIVITIES IN 2009

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KEY EVENTS IN 2009

Retail sales

Already present in train stations and airports in 20 countries worldwide, Lagardère Services continued to open retail outlets in 2009 (Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Singapore, Switzerland), testing new marketing concepts - owned and franchised - and renewing various concessions in transport hubs. Thanks to its Relay chain, Lagardère Services now operates the top international network of press outlets, which offer a growing number of travellers an extensive range of products - including newspapers, magazines, books, candy, souvenirs and food products - selected to make their travel experience more enjoyable.

With a presence in over 100 international airports, Lagardère Services also sells duty-free goods such as wines and spirits, tobacco products, perfumes, gourmet foods and fashion items in France, Great Britain and Poland through Aelia, the leading French airport retailer. In addition to its franchises (Virgin, Hermès, Hédiard, L'Occitane) and own brands (Beauty Unlimited, Pure and Rare, Gourmand, La Cave à Cigares, Sunny Days, Cosmopole, Men's Lounge), Aelia operates an in-flight sales service for airlines, in particular for Iberia. In train stations and airports in Germany, Australia, United States, France and Spain, Lagardère Services runs numerous stores selling music, print media and small electronic goods under the Virgin banner. The Découvrir chain in France, Poland, the United States and Australia offers tourists products specifically adapted to the attractions or regions where they are located. In many Western and Central European countries, Lagardère Services is developing the convenience-store concept under several trade names and aims to give consumers the widest possible range of products and services to choose from. The Inmedio chain, for example, which now operates in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, offers a generous selection of magazines, books and ‘ impulse-buy' products. This is also the case with Belgium's Press Shop , as well as Switzerland's Naville and well-known Payot Libraire bookshop chain.

Lastly, Lagardère Services is active in new segments of retail trade - fast food, coffee shops and specialized concepts - through partnerships with leading retailers such as Moa, Costa, La Cure Gourmande, Paul and L'Occitane.

In partnership with the Casino group, Lagardère Services has used the Chez Jean brand in France to launch the concept of French-style convenience stores, combining snacks, print media, convenience products and essential items with a variety of services.

With more than two-thirds of its total sales generated from retailing, Lagardère Services is a major player in this business sector.

In 2009, Lagardère Services continued the development of its magazine download platform: HDS Digital. This registered more than two million downloads over the year.

Press distribution, wholesaling and import-export activities

Supplying points of sale with newspapers and magazines is an essential aspect of print media marketing. Lagardère Services provides this service in 10 countries, where it operates at two levels:

• A world leader in the distribution of national periodicals, Lagardère Services is the No. 1 distributor in the United States, Belgium, Frenchspeaking Switzerland, Spain and Hungary. In many countries, Lagardère Services supplies convenience-store chains: Lapker in Hungary (11,979 points of sale, including 673 in-store), SGEL in Spain (16,000 points of sale). Curtis Circulation Company is the leading national magazine distributor in North America with a 30% market share and operates a network of independent wholesalers. It also manages sales of the magazines it represents to North America's largest retail chains. In Spain, SGEL is the top national distributor of periodicals with a 20% market share. Lagardère Services has no significant competition in Hungary, Belgium or Switzerland.
  
• Lagardère Services is also a leading distributor of imported international publications in 10 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, the United States, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Switzerland).