Traditional Khmer motifs and carvings.

Luxury duty free and travel retailer, DFS Group has, today, opened its first T Galleria in Cambodia, located in Siem Reap, the resort town and provincial capital close to the ancient temple of Angkor Wat.

DFS says that its new 8,000sq m unit is the largest duty free luxury department store in Cambodia with 200 local sales associates on hand. It will open in phases until June, bringing a total of 170 international brands from categories including fashion and accessories, watches and jewellery, wines and spirits, and beauty and fragrances, as well as a selection of locally-made artisan products.

Philippe Schaus, DFS Group.

6M VISITORS EXPECTED IN 2016

Cambodia has enjoyed a boom in tourism in the past few years, with Siem Reap accounting for almost 70% of the six million international travellers estimated to visit Cambodia this year.

“Here at DFS Group, we’re continually inspired by our customers’ appetite for discovery and adventure,” says Philippe Schaus, DFS Group’s Chairman and CEO. “We are honoured to welcome them to Siem Reap, a destination renowned for its rich culture and history, and to offer more opportunities for them to enjoy their stay.”

The store’s vaulted atrium.

Schaus describes the new store as ‘an oasis of luxury in the heart of the city’. It is set within a park and is adjacent to the Angkor National Museum, The Angkor store has been designed as a celebration of local culture and heritage within a contemporary setting.

DFS worked with Cambodian artisans to incorporate traditional Khmer motifs and carvings. Stone columns feature panels carved in styles reflecting the nearby temples and palaces of Angkor Wat, while intricately patterned wall screens and floor tiles evoke local architecture. A nearly 60-foot art installation, suspended in space above the store’s vaulted atrium, is inspired by the hues of Buddhist monks’ robes.

FIRST-IN-CAMBODIA BRANDS

The Angkor opening also marks the exclusive launch of several first-in-Cambodia brands. In watches and jewellery: Bulgari, Carl F Bucherer and Tiffany & Co; in fashion: Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Fendi, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Saint Laurent and Zegna; and in beauty: Bobbi Brown, Clé de Peau Beauté, MAC and Sulwhasoo.

The store brings 22 brands to Cambodia for the first time.

Artisanal work includes Angkor Artwork, whose master craftsmen Eric and Thierry Stocker produce lacquer and straw marquetry using traditional techniques; Golden Silk, one of the last fully-integrated silk producers in the world to use the rare yellow silkworm indigenous to Cambodia; and Samatoa, an eco-friendly accessories brand that has revived the forgotten technique of lotus fibre weaving.

T Galleria by DFS, Angkor has also teamed up with Artisans d’Angkor, a socially-conscious business aimed at revitalising Cambodia’s traditional craftsmanship while pioneering a sustainable working environment, to develop a collection of handwoven silks and fine crafts. The collection will showcase products that were designed by and will benefit local artisans.

From June, the store will also offer travellers the first Crystal Jade restaurant in Cambodia. The restaurant will serve traditional Chinese cuisine and dim sum in a ‘casual yet sophisticated’ setting overlooking the gardens and reflecting pools outside.

Products that celebrate Cambodia as a destination.

DFS has a large space to work with in this location.

“We think it would be a nice combination to be able to have both and to play on the loyalty programmes and all of that and you know, we will see in the long term. We will definitely remain a candidate for the airport when it comes up.”

Dufry’s duty free contract at Phnom Penn and Siem Real runs through to 2020 in Cambodia.

Dufry now operates the duty free contract covering 1,670sq m at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap international airports in Cambodia. This is more than double the previous size of the commercial area, after the retailer was granted an extension to its contract in 2014 taking it through to 2020.