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“We decided to create much more of a department store, eclectic feel, and more interaction with the customer – because we realised the customer was not going to be the customer we expected“ |
Philippe Schaus Chairman & CEO DFS Group |
CHINA/INTERNATIONAL. DFS Group is poised to unveil the first phase of a major expansion of its City of Dreams store in Macau.
The project is being developed in stages, with the first to open in early June. “It’s a massive expansion of the store we already have in Macau – the space will be multiplied by three times,” Chairman & CEO Philippe Schaus told The Moodie Davitt Report.
The first phase is dedicated to fashion and part of the beauty offer. The balance of the beauty department, watches & jewellery and a pioneering shoe offer will follow in subsequent phases.
A major opening event is slated for September with the whole project completed by year-end.
“What makes this so special is that we will have for the first time in Macau what you could call a luxury department store,” said Schaus. “We’ve moved away from the mall feel to more of a department store feel, with, for example, a big open shoe space and a walk-through beauty space. It will have a men’s floor and a women’s floor; and more cafes mixing up with the rest of the retail.”
Schaus said that typically in the building of the large-scale Macau integrated resorts, retail has been an afterthought, usually flanking the core casino offer. This is very different, he noted.
“Here, the most striking features will be on the retail side – so the retail is becoming the hero of the property.”
Asked by The Moodie Davitt Report about whether the heavy recent downturn in the Macau business had affected DFS Group’s commitment there, Schaus said the company’s belief remained “unwavering”.
“Remember, it went down from highs that were incredible,” he said. “For many of the brands, the stores they have with us at The Four Seasons were among their ten best worldwide. For many of the brands their Macau business is bigger than their Russian, Brazilian and Indian business. Yes sales went down sharply because of the gambling [decline], which has been driving the business, but it remains an extraordinarily important business for most of the brands there.
“However, we did change the concept because of the changing situation. So while we were [initially] intending to do something more akin to Macau Four Seasons – meaning more of a mall – about a year ago we pulled out our plans again and decided to revisit what we were going to do.
“We decided to create much more of a department store, eclectic feel, and more interaction with the customer – because we realised the customer was not going to be the customer we expected. It’s a different customer.
“Where there’ll be a huge change is in fashion. We’ll have large spaces that will be multi-brand – for fashion, accessories, and shoes – so it is completely different.
“We will have many more brands in that building than we have anywhere else because of this multi-brand format. So we’re talking to many brands we’ve never talked to and are really expanding the offer in terms of diversity.”
NOTE: Look out for an extended interview with Philippe Schaus soon.
City of Dreams forms a key element of DFS Group’s multi-store Macau offer |
