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DFS Group’s new store at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal sets a new standard for duty free at North American airports |
USA. DFS Group today unveiled a new corporate logo and revealed plans to re-brand its downtown Galleria operations, beginning in Hawaii this September.
The news came as the leading luxury travel retailer launched a new retail identity created exclusively for its concession at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where it will open 25,000sq ft when the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) begins trading, a move scheduled for late August. [Click here for our earlier story on the unveiling; we’ll bring you more details in a separate story shortly, including comment from master developer Westfield plus key concessionaires such as Hudson Group, LS travel retail and others.]
The new logo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Philippe Schaus told a small group of invited media (including The Moodie Report) today, was a natural reflection of the company’s evolution.
“We have moved from the value-led proposition to a business defined by many other values,” he said. “And the DFS name has gone from being an identifier of value to an institution anchored in trust, quality and luxury. This new ‘quieter’ logo reflects the institution we are today. It’s the first step in an evolution of our brand strategy.”
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The DFS senior management team at the LAX unveiling today |
In addition to its new institutional logo, the group emphasised that it will continue to enhance its luxury offering globally at other airport stores and in particular via its downtown Gallerias.
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“In the next few months we are going to move one step further towards the brand elevation strategy that has been a decade in the making,” added Schaus. “Indeed, our next significant step will be the rebranding of DFS Galleria, our downtown brand, which will be unveiled at an event in Waikiki, Hawaii this September.”
He said the new name and identity will “celebrate the excitement of travel” and that the DFS name and identity would remain prominent.
New identity at LAX
The new identity for LAX integrates a specially designed logo just for this location, and localised retail concepts across all 18 retail spaces operated by DFS. The company said its merchandising, store design and customer service at LAX will “unite to make a definitive statement on luxury airport retail never before seen in Los Angeles”.
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The new DFS logo (above the store front, right) and the branding that has been especially created for Los Angeles International (left) – which may be mirrored at other airports |
“This is a pivotal moment for DFS Group, and in particular for our North American operations,” said Schaus. “After more than half a century of leading the trends in travel retail, we are now enriching our commitment to creating luxury experiences for our customers – world travellers – with a sharpened and distinct local flavour.
“We are proud to make our first major demonstration of this evolution here in L.A., the site of our first airport operation on the American mainland.”
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A stand-alone watches store is among the highlights (top two images) while (below) the retailer has opened the biggest airport beauty store in North America – and one that DFS believes is a match for even the best of its Galleria environments |
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At TBIT, DFS will retail a range of luxury brands and products across categories, including several firsts to US airport retail such as Hublot, Bottega Veneta and Chloé. In addition, multiple beauty brands will make their North American airport debuts via DFS in what is the largest airport beauty floor in the country; these brands include SK-II, Jurlique, Benefit, Clarisonic and upcoming Los Angeles brand Smashbox.
Also in the luxury offer are Chopard, Zenith and Vertu in watches and jewellery, as well as fashion brands Hermès, Gucci, Burberry and Salvatore Ferragamo.
The group is also launching three spirit exclusives in celebration of the new LAX identity: the Johnnie Walker Blue Sandblasted Pack, limited to 130 bottles; the Rémy Louis Rare Cask by Rémy Martin and the Gran Patrón Piedra, both North American firsts.
DFS has also integrated new and localized luxury concepts to the environment. An L.A. themed spirits tasting bar will be opened next to the spirits & wine floor, where bartenders offer travellers samples drinks that “capture the spirit and energy of Los Angeles”.
The retailer has also, for the first time in North America, incorporated its Platinum Services Club (PSC) concierge services directly into its airport operations.
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Liquor is a key category, with an emphasis on rare and prestige items, plus the showcase offered by a soon-to-open tasting bar |
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Patrón Spirits marked the opening with one of its signature ice bars |
“After 31 years at LAX and winning the bid just last year to renew our contract for another ten, Los Angeles was the most appropriate city for us to begin our journey of transforming the airport retail experience for world travellers in North America,” said DFS Managing Director, North America Polly Nelson. “We are currently in the process of investing more than US$50 million in capital improvements to our North American airport retail concessions and boutiques, and we look forward to revealing very soon other innovative ways in which our airport store network will evolve.”
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DFS will open a Hermès boutique later in the year – for now, the brand owner has created a superb eye-catching hoarding |
The major investment projects include JFK T4 (with the addition of MAC and Jo Malone stores), plus a new 6,000sq ft beauty store that will open in August, as well as new spirits and watches & jewellery zones. In San Francisco, the company has opened a new Hermès unit that joins its other luxury offerings, while there are renovations for spirits & wines and a new world of watches.
DFS has invested US$25 million in its new LAX operations. Its new retail identity will be extended to the stores in other terminals in the year ahead.
Schaus told The Moodie Report: “This LAX development is significant and signals a huge change in the way that duty free is perceived at US airports. It also says that we are selective about where we operate, but that where do choose to go, we can make a big difference.”
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LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsay with DFS Chairman & CEO Philippe Schaus |
A full, in-depth interview with DFS Chairman & CEO Philippe Schaus will appear in our July Print Edition, with highlights online. Full details of the new LAX TBIT development, plus more on DFS’s ground-breaking project there, will feature online as well as in next week’s edition of The Moodie Report e-Zine.
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“We are selective about where we operate, but where do choose to go, we can make a big difference,” said DFS Chairman & CEO Philippe Schaus |
