Hong Kong's low-profile DFS brand now ready to go global
Most people would not guess that DFS Group is a home-grown brand, let alone that it is the largest luxury retailer of cosmetics in Hong Kong. But it was here that the duty-free pioneer opened its first store in 1960.
Most people would not guess that DFS Group is a home-grown brand, let alone that it is the largest luxury retailer of cosmetics in Hong Kong. But it was here that the duty-free pioneer opened its first store in 1960.
In the past few years, the company has repositioned its city outlets as luxurious destinations on par with any upmarket department store, although still friendly to their core customer base of travellers. It has been rolling out the new name since September, first in Hawaii and then in Hong Kong last week.
"I think the [branding] focus has been a lot on the internationalisation of DFS, whether it was the opening in Abu Dhabi or the new outlet in Terminal 4 of JFK airport and maybe it was a bit of an oversight to communicate in Hong Kong that this is a very large retailer that is actually based here," chief executive Philippe Schaus said.
"It was a well hidden secret, but we are very proud of our Hong Kong roots."
DFS has two store models: airport and city. In the early days, city stores were simply extensions of the airport outlets. Customers would shop before they got to the airport and the goods, bought at duty-free prices, could be collected after they had gone through security. However, in a VAT-free city such as Hong Kong, DFS sells at the same prices as any other retailer.