The face of luxury travel retail in Macau, Hong Kong and Greater China is set to change, as China Tourism Group Duty Free has announced that it is planning to purchase DFS’ retail business in the country.
According to a joint announcement on Monday, CTG Duty-Free will acquire all of the Macau DFS stores, excluding one in City of Dreams, as well as the Hong Kong stores and intangible assets ‘encompassing a series of DFS brands and intellectual properties for exclusive use in Greater China’.
The acquisition is to be made through CTG’s fully-owned subsidiary China Duty Free International Limited,, ,with the proceeds to be paid in cash. After the transaction, DFS will continue to operate its other global travel retail operations.
At the same time, the parent company of DFS LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) – the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate and the family of DFS co-founder Robert Miller will participate in a capital increase in CTG Duty-Free by subscribing to newly issued H-shares listed in Hong Kong. The company notes that ‘the subscription amount represents a small part of their proceeds’ and will be made upon the completion of the sale of DFS China assets.
Ed Brennan, Chairman and CEO of DFS noted that “The sale of our Hong Kong and Macau stores marks an important step for DFS. DFS’ well-established presence and operational excellence in Hong Kong and Macau is an achievement we take great pride in.”
Luxury retail sales in Macau and Hong Kong have taken a hit in recent years, with sales weighed down by weakened Chinese consumer sentiment and macroeconomic shifts. DFS in early 2025 shuttered one of its operations in one of Macau’s main tourist districts – Senado Square due to low foot traffic. The venue at the time was said to be taken over by CTG.
The sale could shift DFS’ operations to focus more on Chinese brands, with the President of CTG Duty-Free noting “This move will further expand CTG Duty-Free’s service network across the Greater Bay Area, aiming to build a platform for promoting China-chic brands globally and establish an international business mid-platform. CTG Duty-Free remains committed to providing high-quality travel retail experiences to both domestic and international tourists, fulfilling its responsibility as a central state-owned enterprise-controlled listed company to support the high-quality development of the retail economy in Hong Kong and Macau”.
CTG Duty-Free is under the wing of the China Tourism Group and operates nearly 200 duty-free stores across more than 100 cities worldwide.
