The Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) Group, the Hong Kong-headquartered travel retailer controlled by luxury giant LVMH, announced on Friday, November 15, the closure in 2025 of its T Fondaco dei Tedeschi department store located in Venice. DFS Group cited economic difficulties as the reason for its decision, as the store has been accumulating losses since the pandemic and the fall in the number of Asian tourists.
DFS Group said it will not renew the lease at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a 13th century building close to the famed Rialto Bridge, when it expires in September 2025. The 7,000 sqm store, a temple of luxury shopping, was inaugurated in 2016. Located near the famous Rialto Bridge, it overlooks the Grand Canal and was the first European location for DFS.
"This difficult decision is part of a global restructuring ... driven by the very challenging economic situation and outlook that DFS and the travel retail sector have been facing globally, and in particular by our Venice store’s difficult results," the group said in a statement.
DFS added that "its primary goal is to minimize the social impact" for the store’s employees, whose number is estimated at around 220 people by the press.
The group manages 400 points of sale worldwide, spread across 15 key airports and 18 T Gallerias in prestigious locations in tourist city centres
In the third quarter, LVMH’s "selective distribution" division, which includes the DFS group but also Sephora, Le Bon Marché and La Samaritaine, recorded a 3.6% drop in its turnover, to 3.9 billion euros.
