INTERNATIONAL. Duty Free Americas (DFA) is planning a second major renovation of its stores at The Venetian Macau-Resort-Hotel, with a big project covering 5,000sq ft due to be completed by late summer.
As we reported, an earlier upgrade – of 6,500sq ft within the overall 11,500sq ft space – was completed in December 2017. That project, which included adding an extra 1,500sq ft to the footprint, drove a sharp rise in sales. After doubling the business year-on-year in 2018, 2019 revenue has continued to climb sharply, said DFA CEO Jerome Falic in an interview with The Moodie Davitt Report.
“We have the number one location in Macau. It’s in prime position, close to the casino and the bus drop-off. Over 20 million visitors a year pass our shop. It’s the most visible store in Macau and has a captive audience many airports would love.”
On the key elements of the upcoming project, Falic said: “We have one of the largest Dior boutiques in travel retail, which will be renovated as part of the investment.
“We will have an upgrade of SK-II, which is key in the region. They are building a beautiful shop-in-shop. Clarins will add cosmetics as part of the upgrade. And we’re talking to two high-end luxury brands about adding cosmetics. We will still feature liquor but have discontinued tobacco.”
Another addition to the mix at The Venetian will be upscale coffee concept Black, for which DFA opened the first store in travel retail at Singapore Changi Airport last year. This offers high-end beans from around the world to coffee connoisseurs.
These store changes in Macau will build upon the tailored, regionalised offer from the earlier upgrade. At that time DFA added Clé de Peau Beauté, NARS, Givenchy, History of Whoo, Makeup Forever, Innisfree, Etude House, La Roche Posay, Vichy, Kérastase and Benefit, with YSL Cosmetics and Armani remodelled.
Cementing its presence at the location, the Sands Group and DFA recently agreed a new five-year contract, while the retailer also captured the prized accolade of Best Store Performance – General Retail Award at the Sands Retail Awards 2018.
As reported recently, DFA is set to begin an ambitious programme of store investment at Miami International Airport that will run through 2019. The company is also upgrading its northern and southern US border stores and planning to expand at the new Tocumen Airport T2 in Panama.
*Watch out for a special edition of The Moodie Davitt Spotlight eZine in coming days, which includes on location reports from several of DFA’s major airport operations, and interviews with owners the Falic family. Highlights will appear in The Moodie Davitt Report Magazine for March, out in hard copy at the Summit of the Americas next week, with digital distribution to our global readership.
