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HONG KONG. DFS Co-Founder Robert Miller has been named The Moodie Report Personality of the Month for November, in association with The Dalmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
DFS, the world’s leading luxury goods travel retailer, celebrated its 50th anniversary in November. Miller, along with partner Chuck Feeney, opened the company’s first office in Hong Kong in November 1960, a move that marked the beginning of one of the great modern-day stories in retailing.
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Robert Miller toasts 50 years of success at DFS at the November party in Hong Kong; note the background image displayed on the big screen, of Miller as he toasted the opening of the group’s Kai Tak Airport operations 50 years ago |
The Moodie Report Personality of the Month is a regular online feature, supported by leading Highland malt The Dalmore. It aims to recognise those individuals who by their deeds, attitudes and behaviour advance the industry’s cause.
Robert Miller – still a shareholder in DFS alongside LVMH – certainly fits that description. DFS was the first international retailer to seize the opportunity presented by the emergence of the Japanese as a nation of travellers in the 1960s. More recently it had the foresight, know-how and skill to target the Mainland Chinese, just as they were beginning to make their presence felt as a shopping force in Asia Pacific.
The company has evolved in style and emphasis too. From its beginnings as a retailer primarily of liquor, DFS is now the leading travel retailer of luxury goods across an array of categories, as shown by its beautifully executed store environments, and as underlined by the unmatched portfolio of brand names that populate those spaces.
Crucial to the success of the company, as Miller noted in his address to guests at the 50th anniversary party in Hong Kong, is its people.
Miller said: “A lot has happened in Hong Kong in the past 50 years, and the changes are unbelievable. DFS has been through tumultuous times, but it has persevered and done well. That’s due to our wonderful team of people, and to their dedication and loyalty.”
Previous Personalities of the Month include Aer Rianta International-Middle East Managing Director John Sutcliffe, Zürich Airport Chief Commercial Officer Peter Eriksson, Schiphol Group Business Area Consumers Managing Director Otto Ambagtsheer, Dubai Duty Free Managing Director Colm McLoughlin and Sydney Airport General Manager, Retail Derek Larsen.
Each monthly selection will also enter the shortlist for The Moodie Report’s popular People of the Year Awards, named at the end of each year. The monthly selections will also receive a bottle of The Dalmore Single Highland Malt.
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Robert Miller in Hong Kong, the city where he opened the first DFS office in 1960 |
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