DFS Group has opened a Gucci boutique at San Francisco International Airport representing the first Gucci presence at any US airport to date.

The new boutique is located in the airside International Terminal and Gucci was reportedly chosen from a list of around 12 companies that had shown interest in taking the space.
SFO management will now keep an eye on the store's performance with a possible view to adding more upscale retail if it performs well. This news follows the award of a contract extension for DFS at San Francisco earlier this month after the retailer agreed to pay a new minimum annual guarantee of $26.4m.
The new agreement, which is expected to begin next June, offers DFS additional space for a new Coach outlet, plus a new bookstore and two kiosks. Under the new terms the airport authority has set the rent at $26.4m, which is $300,000 more than DFS pays under its existing contract. The new contract term could run until 2017 if all extension clauses are exercised.
Since 9/11 and the resulting downturn in traffic DFS has benefited from considerable rent relief at San Francisco International Airport, but traffic is now much improved. SFO is certainly one of the more forward-thinking airports in the US having stuck with its retailers and partners through a difficult five-year period.