DFS China and Tencent Smart Retail have been collaborating since 2020 to map DFS Group’s future e-commerce vision by assessing how its private domain can be enhanced to improve traffic, promote customer conversion, and increase brand awareness and sales.
Thanks to the partnership’s successful development, both parties pledged to give full rein to their respective advantages to achieve greater scale and create a more comprehensive strategic cooperation model. This will be done while continuing to create long-term sustainable value for DFS private domain users, DFS Group, and Tencent Smart Retail in the retail public-private domain value chain.
DFS China hopes to establish the travel retailer’s proprietary digital assets and improve the operational efficiency of touchpoints. It also seeks to create a more exclusive personalised consumer experience, and drive business growth for brands and business partners.
DFS noted that due to the impact of the global epidemic, the concept of smart retail is gradually leading the development and transformation of the retail sector and helping to solve traditional retail problems.
DFS China and Tencent will focus on several key areas:
- the strategic planning of private domain operations
- innovative business models such as pulling cross-industry cooperation projects, or the cooperative development of the new brand ‘incubation’
- Four Force’s diagnostics and mini-program CDC go check services
- Implement a broader special case sharing, empowerment training, management-level cross-border exchanges and more
DFS China said it is looking forward to enhanced cooperation with Tencent. “The two parties will maintain the principle of openness, sharing, cooperation, and co-construction to elevate the luxury duty free shopping experience and contribute to the high-quality and efficient development of China’s travel retail industry,” it commented
DFS Group founded in Hong Kong in 1960 by Robert (Bob) Miller – who remains a sizable shareholder – and Charles (Chuck Feeney) and majority controlled since 1996 by French luxury powerhouse LVMH, has a retail network spread over four continents, offering more than 750 international brands.
Tencent, which claims to be the world’s leading internet technology company, provides partners with one-stop solutions and services for retail. These include consultancy, planning, pilot operation, and deployment, enabling a digital upgrade in multiple aspects of the retail industry including product, technology, resource, and capability.
