The World’s Top Travel Retailers (continued)
DFS Group
2023 turnover (million)
€3,400
2023 Rank
5
Movement
△1
We estimate DFS Group gross sales at €3.4 billion, placing the company at fifth in our rankings. [This is our closest estimate as LVMH does not break out DFS figures in its results.]
The leading luxury travel retailer, co-owned by LVMH Möet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and DFS Co-Founder Robert Miller, remained behind 2019 sales levels in the year although there was some encouragement in the return of tourists to flagship destinations Hong Kong and Macau, with more gradual recovery elsewhere. Spending, however, is a different matter, and both Special Administrative Regions have witnessed alarmingly soft indicators in that regard through 2024.
In the first half of 2024, LVMH highlighted a strong DFS performance in Japan – buoyed by the weak Yen – and at US airports.
The travel retailer continues to invest in its airport and downtown network. Among the landmark projects in 2023 was DFS’s opening of 2,000sq m of luxury space in Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Terminal 3A – marking a significant advancement of its ambitions in China.
The company has also confirmed its heady ambitions in Hainan Island. On 9 April this year, DFS Group and Shenya Group signed an agreement to mark the official commencement of the extraordinary DFS Yalong Bay complex. The 128,000sq m collaborative project, hailed as the first world-class, seven-star luxury retail and entertainment destination on the island, is slated for a 2026 opening.
*More comment and analysis follows in our July/August Magazine edition.
DFS Group officially unveiled its first wines & spirits multi-boutique concept in Macau in January. The 300sq m venue at T Galleria by DFS, Macau, Shoppes at Four Seasons houses more than 140 brands with key brands such as Johnnie Walker making their shop-in-shop debuts in Macau.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 336 | 20 August 2024
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