T FONDACO DEI TEDESCHI – ONE YEAR ON IN VENICE

Panorama by T Fondaco dei Tedeschi

T FONDACO DEI TEDESCHI – ONE YEAR ON

One year ago, on 1st October 2017, T Fondaco dei Tedeschi DFS Store opened his doors to the public, bringing back to life a beautiful Venetian building, which for many years had been left to the decay of time.

2.A.0. Fondaco Courtyard – Matteo de Fina @ DFS

T Fondaco dei Tedeschi offers 7000 square meters of exhibition space with a careful selection of high quality products, selected among the most distinctive Made in Italy and International brands. Fashion and accessories, watches and jewellery, wines and spirits, cosmetics and perfumes, quality craftsmanship and food excellence find their space on the four floors of the building, overlooking the large and bright central courtyard.

8.A. Fondaco ThirdFloor Women’s Shoe Salon 1 – Photo DFS

I was one of the lucky one thousand guests who got to attend the incredible opening party. Beautiful live music, dangling acrobats, delicious finger food and great wines, all set in a stunning location: the 4 floors of the Fondaco Dei Tedeschi, one of the most amazing examples of beautiful architecture in Venice.

During the initial press conference and also during the party, the managing board kept repeating that the luxury store was not intended only for the visitors (namely the tourists) in Venice, but should also become a focal point for the local residents, a cultural center, promoting art and music events, free for everyone.

Well, one year has gone by and I got invited to attend to a celebration breakfast in the Loyal T Lounge, a unique cozy setting with a beautiful view of the Gran Canal.

Cakes for our press conference

On our arrival we were greeted with coffee and cakes and we were introduced to Eléonore de Boysson, the Region President, for Europe and the Middle East, responsible for store operations.

Eleonore De Boysson

Mrs. De Boysson, together with Renata Renzoni, the General Manager of the T Fondaco dei Tedeschi and Anna Adriani, the Marketing Director of the store, gave us an insight on the achievements of the store in the last year.

Press Conference at T Fondaco dei Tedeschi

Mrs. De Boysson told us that DFS is very happy because not only they have achieved all the goals they had set over a year ago, but they actually managed to surpass them!

She explained that the originals goals were:

–   to give back to the Venetians the Fondaco, not only as a beautiful structure, but as it was meant in its original purpose: an international trade center.

–    to offer the Venetians a new location for social life – a center for culture and shopping

–  to offer to all the customers of T Fondaco a Venetian experience, focusing the offer of products on Italian brands, as well as offering a selection of artisan products. The experience had to include also animation and events

–  to host events, concerts and lectures in the structure, partnering with the City of Venice, becoming not only a shopping center, but a cultural reference for everyone

View from Loyal T Lounge

A year on, she said that the management is truly happy and proud with the results that have been obtained.

The company, following customer expectations and requests, are increasing the number of brands on offer on the store from 330 to 400.

The were expecting around 2 million visitors per year and actually have achieved over 3 millions per year, managing to average around 8,000 visitors a day, of various nationalities. Many visitors make their way to the beautiful altana, which offers a unique panorama of the Gran Canal and which is quickly becoming one of the most photograph spots in Venice.

10.2 Fondaco Terrace – Photo by Matteo de Fina @ DFS

Of the 400 people the store employed, 60% are younger than 30 years old. For half of them, it was their first experience and therefore DFS has invested a lot in their training, averaging around 80/100 hours of training.

100% of the staff can speak Italian and English, plus at least another language, covering around 10 languages in the store.

And one important point: 20% of the staff comes directly from Ca’ Foscari, the famous local university, again stressing the strong link which the DFS wants to have with the city.

Waterbones by Loris Cecchini_07

Mrs. De Boysson explained also that from the month of October, in conjunction with the anniversary of the opening, the store is offering a varied program of events. The Event Pavilion will host the cultural program titled ‘Let’s Give Us Some Time – Diamoci Del Tempo’, which is inspired by the many traces left by the passing of time inside a building that has crossed the centuries.

“The cultural events offered in this first year have always sold out,” said Eléonore de Boysson, “demonstrating that the city recognizes us as an ideal place for experiences: from fashion to concerts, from artistic installations to reading with international authors. Venice remains for us a key juncture in Europe and as such we will continue to value its potential. “

The visitors of the Fondaco will be invited to “take some time” by attending a series of meetings with artists, writers and musicians who have put time, the various ways of scanning and preserving it, at the center of their reflections.

Here is a preview of the October program at T Fondaco Dei Tedeschi – all events must be always booked, since the space is very limited, but they are all always free to attend.

#TFondacoFirstAnniversary #EleonoreDeBoysson #LoyalTLounge #ColazioneAlFondaco #prcoItaly #lifeofablogger #monicacesarato #specialbreakfast