The LVMH subsidiary specializing in travel retail has announced the closure of Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a giant travel-retail department store in the heart of Venice, in the first half of 2025. Opened in 2016, the venue was loss-making.
Death to Venice…
LVMH and, more specifically, its subsidiary DFS, no doubt regrets having allowed itself to be tempted by the beauty of the lagoon city’s golds.
LVMH’s travel retail subsidiary has just announced the closure in 2025 of its iconic Venetian department store, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Inaugurated in 2016, this had been the first DFS store to open in Europe.
“This difficult decision is part of a general restructuring undertaken by DFS, which stems from the very critical economic situation and outlook facing DFS and the travel retail sector globally and, in particular, the negative results of the Venice store. The Fondaco dei Tedeschi will remain open for part of the first half of the year, at the end of which it will be closed for the final months of the rental period, devoted to dismantling work,” explained DFS in a press release from its Hong Kong headquarters.
Fewer Chinese and Japanese tourists in Venice
226 employees will be made redundant, a further blow for Venice, which is struggling to recover from the pandemic. Since the pandemic, the city has lost many Chinese tourists, who are now more present in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, and has also lost its aura with Japanese tourists, discouraged by the weakness of their currency against the euro.
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Featured Photos: © DR
