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Welcome to my interim-interim Moodie Davitt Report Bureau.
I’ve at The Westin Europa & Regina Venice, having arrived in plenty of time for Thursday’s Grand Opening ceremony of T Fondaco dei Tedeschi by DFS, surely one of the biggest moments in travel retail history.
The 13th century Fondaco dei Tedeschi building is one of Venice’s most illustrious landmarks, once famed as a centre of commerce between East and West. Here DFS claims to have created a “one-stop lifestyle department store unlike any in Europe”.
When the project was revealed in September 2014, DFS Chairman and CEO Philippe Schaus described both the honour and the humbling experience of becoming “the guardians” of this iconic landmark. I feel similar emotions and I am only reporting on it.
People are coming from all over the world for this opening and I am privileged to be part of the entourage. It’s almost certainly the highest-profile development in DFS’s 56-year history and the retailer knows that the eyes of Venice, Italy, the luxury industry and the travel retail sector will be on it. No pressure then…
Over the next couple of days, I’ll bring you images and impressions of this landmark (in every sense of the word) development. For now though, as I wait for my room to be ready, I will have to make do with my interim-interim Bureau. Sometimes life can be tough.
