industry travel retail founded 7 november 1960 1960 11 07 in hong kong founders robert miller charles feeney headquarters 8 f chinachem golden plaza 77 mody road tsim sha tsui east kowloon hong kong area served worldwide key people philippe schaus chairman and ceo sibylle scherer president merchandising and consumer marketing mark james chief financial officer tim delessio president store operations andrew webster evp human resources products consumer goods number of employees 9000 website www.dfsgroup.com www.dfs.com www.tgalleria.com dfs dfs group is a hong kong based travel retailer of luxury products . established in 1960 its network consists of duty free stores stores located in 17 major airports and 18 downtown galleria stores 1 2 as well as resort locations worldwide . it is privately held and majority owned by the luxury conglomerate mo t hennessy louis vuitton lvmh alongside dfs co founder and shareholder robert miller . as of january 11 1997 dfs group operates as a subsidiary of lvmh . 3 it is headquartered in tsim sha tsui east hong kong and has offices in hawaii los angeles shanghai singapore and tokyo . dfs group employs over 9 000 people operating in 14 countries worldwide . as of 2016 over 200 million travellers visited dfs stores . 4 contents 1 history 1.1 beginnings 1.2 expansion and re branding 2 acquisition 3 locations 3.1 asia and pacific islands 3.2 middle east 3.3 north america 3.4 europe 3.5 australia and new zealand 4 awards and recognition 5 references 6 external links history edit beginnings edit in 1960 american entrepreneurs charles feeney 5 and robert miller 6 founded tourists international which later became duty free shoppers dfs in hong kong . the entrepreneurs anticipated the growing spending power of military servicemen as well as the rise of international travelers from asia following vast improvements in international air travel after world war ii . in 1962 two dfs stores were opened at the international airports in hong kong and honolulu the first duty free shop in the united states . 7 in 1966 alan m. parker and anthony m. pilaro joined the dfs as partners . expansion and re branding edit in the 1960s and 1970s dfs group significantly expanded their operation in asia and north america . dfs capitalized on the rising wave of asian tourists who began to travel further overseas opening stores in international airports and later in downtown locations where travelers could shop and have their purchases delivered before departure . 8 in 1968 dfs opened its first downtown duty free store in kowloon hong kong followed shortly thereafter by honolulu and eventually expanding to 14 locations all over the world . 9 in 2005 branded halls opened in okinawa japan launching a new shop in shop concept for dfs gallerias . 10 in 2010 dfs university was established for enhancing expertise of the employees . in 2013 dfs reached 420 locations worldwide and undertook a major branding initiative setting the stage for the next generation of expansion . it re branded its downtown galleria stores t galleria 11 and moved to a strategy of localization for airports working with local suppliers to increase its mix of destination products . in 2015 dfs opened its first transformational wines and spirits duplex store at singapore changi airport including a raffles long bar . 12 in the year it also launched t galleria beauty by dfs a standalone beauty concept store in hong kong and macau . 13 in 2016 dfs expanded its operation opening t galleria angkor in siem reap cambodia and shoe hall at the t galleria by dfs city of dreams in macau . 14 15 also announced its plan to hit europe opening its first t galleria shop at fondaco dei tedeschi in venice italy . 16 philippe schaus serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of dfs group and a member of the lvmh executive committee . 17 18 he joined dfs in 2011 as group president merchandising and marketing and was appointed to his current role in 2012 . 19 acquisition edit in 1996 lvmh acquired the majority share of dfs group 20 buying out feeney parker and pilaro and setting a new focus on the combined elements of travel and luxury . 21 it developed a merchandising strategy based around three core pillars beauty fragrances and well being ; fashion watches jewelry and accessories ; fashion and spirits wine tobacco food and gifts and a new tagline the traveler s luxury department store . it also created an annual masters series showcasing the best products across all its categories that convene leading brand representatives top customers media and industry analysts in a celebration of luxury . in 2004 the company moved its headquarter to hong kong from san francisco california as part of a corporate restructure . locations edit dfs group has been operating around 420 duty free stores at 17 international airports 18 downtown galleria stores as well as resort locations in 14 countries around the world . the dfs stores locations 22 23 are as follows ; asia and pacific islands edit t galleria by dfs canton road hong kong t galleria by dfs tsim sha tsui east hong kong t galleria beauty by dfs causeway bay hong kong dfs hong kong international airport hong kong dfs haikou meilan international airport hainan china dfs mumbai duty free mumbai international airport india dfs soekarno hatta international airport jakarta indonesia dfs ngurah rai international airport bali indonesia dfs kualanamu international airport medan indonesia t galleria by dfs bali indonesia t galleria by dfs okinawa japan dfs naha airport okinawa japan dfs haneda international airport tokyo japan dfs narita international airport tokyo japan dfs roman tmetuchl international airport palau dfs palau pacific resort shop palau dfs palasia shop koror palau t galleria by dfs city of dreams macau t galleria by dfs shoppes at four seasons macau t galleria beauty by dfs galaxy macau macau t galleria angkor siem reap cambodia 24 t galleria by dfs singapore dfs singapore cruise centre tanah merah singapore dfs singapore cruise centre harbourfront singapore dfs singapore changi airport singapore dfs saipan international airport saipan t galleria by dfs saipan t galleria by dfs guam sasco duty free tan son nhat international airport ho chi minh city vietnam nasco duty free noi bai international airport hanoi city vietnam dia duty free da nang international airport da nang vietnam crac duty free cam ranh international airport cam ranh vietnam middle east edit dfs abu dhabi international airport uae north america edit t galleria by dfs honolulu hawaii dfs honolulu international airport honolulu hawaii dfs kahului airport kahului hawaii dfs san francisco international airport san francisco california dfs los angeles international airport los angeles california dfs john f. kennedy international airport new york city europe edit t fondaco dei tedeschi venice italy opening in 2016 25 australia and new zealand edit t galleria by dfs cairns australia t galleria by dfs sydney australia t galleria by dfs auckland new zealand awards and recognition edit in 2012 dfs won the hong kong international airport retail concession in all three core categories . 26 in 2015 dfs group was awarded best technology platform under the best treasury and finance strategies in asia pacific category at the corporate treasurer awards . 27 in 2016 it received the 19th duty free news international dfni asia pacific awards for travel retail excellence . 28 references edit dfs group launches t galleria its new store concept for international travellers . 2013 11 01 . retrieved 2016 07 08 . shop dfs premium tax free . retrieved 2016 09 28 . history of dfs group ltd. fundinguniverse . www.fundinguniverse.com . retrieved 2016 07 08 . cnn by dave johnston for . 20 best franchises for travelers cnn.com . cnn . retrieved 2016 07 08 . bertoni steven . chuck feeney the billionaire who is trying to go broke . forbes . retrieved 2016 07 08 . robert miller profile hong kong tatler . hong kong tatler . retrieved 2016 07 08 . dfs history robert miller charles feeney dfs group ltd . www.dfsgroup.com . retrieved 2016 07 08 . history of dfs group ltd. . retrieved september 16 2016 . philippe schaus of dfs on tapping the growing travel retail market . the business of fashion . december 12 2013 . retrieved september 16 2016 . dfs extends t galleria roll out to okinawa . dfni . april 23 2014 . retrieved september 16 2016 . lvmh owned dfs group unveils t galleria hong kong jing daily . 2013 11 05 . retrieved 2016 07 08 . dfs group announces ground breaking move into europe in historic venice . moodie davitt report . september 14 2014 . retrieved september 16 2016 . dfs group goes experiential with beauty . september 18 2014 . retrieved september 16 2016 . dfs opens t galleria in historical angkor wat . dfni . march 22 2016 . retrieved september 16 2016 . city of dreams and dfs group present the most unique eye opening luxury retail experience in macau . yahoo finance . june 24 2016 . retrieved september 16 2016 . interaction engagement experience dfs group unveils second singapore changi airport wines and spirits duplex . moodie davitt report . july 27 2016 . retrieved september 16 2016 . philippe schaus dfs group lvmh . retrieved september 16 2016 . philippe schaus set to speak at trinity forum . tr business . august 21 2015 . retrieved september 16 2016 . overcoming the hierarchical silences . the new york times . february 18 2014 . retrieved september 16 2016 . strom stephanie 1996 10 30 . lvmh to buy duty free empire for 2.47 billion . the new york times . issn 0362 4331 . retrieved 2016 07 08 . nordheimer jon march 12 1997 . millions of dollars couldn t keep dfs group together . the new york times . retrieved september 16 2016 . t galleria dfs galleria dfs group ltd . www.dfsgroup.com . retrieved 2016 07 08 . dfs airport dfs group ltd . www.dfsgroup.com . retrieved 2016 07 08 . furla teams up with dfs to open store at siem reap t galleria the moodie davitt report . 2016 07 07 . retrieved 2016 07 08 . chan vinicy . lvmh s dfs group plans to open first europe shop in 2016 . bloomberg.com . retrieved 2016 07 08 . dfs awarded three concessions at hong kong international airport . june 19 2012 . retrieved september 16 2016 . thomson reuters and dfs group recognized at corporate treasurer awards 2015 . march 16 2016 . retrieved september 16 2016 . dfs group awarded top prizes at dfni asia pacific awards . may 11 2016 . retrieved september 16 2016 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title dfs group & oldid 743823884 categories companies established in 1960retail companies of hong kongduty free shops1960 establishments in hong kongcompanies of hong konghidden categories pages using div col with small parameter navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search 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