DFS' VP of loyalty and member experience departs

Mark Sage, vice president of loyalty and member experience at DFS, has departed to take on a new role in Vietnam.  

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Sage said he will be taking on a new role as MASAN Group’s chief experience and membership officer.

Based in Vietnam, Sage said MASAN is a powerhouse of consumer retail in Vietnam.  “I loved their ‘consumer centric’ focus and felt their depth in the local market – with 98% of Vietnamese households having at least one Masan Consumer product in their home – was a great opportunity.” 

Sage joined DFS in 2022 as VP of loyalty and member engagement, overseeing the customer strategy and all direct-to-customer communications across channels such as eDM, WeChat and client-telling as well as more recently retail media across onsite and offsite channels.    

“It spanned from prospects through to regular loyalty members and we had a focus on transforming the loyalty programme from travel retail loyalty to travel loyalty – helping our customers and members to get more from their overall travel experience,” he said. 

“This included benefits around hotels and airlines, an integrated travel booking partnership with Ctrip/Trip.com which allowed our members to earn DFS CIRCLE points on their hotel stays, as well as exclusive VIP benefits such as airport lounge passes and 24/7 travel concierge.” 

Prior to DFS, Sage set up and launched yuu Rewards in Hong Kong and ran that for three years as COO.  

“Whilst I’ve truly loved my time and experience within travel retail and DFS, I’m really looking forwards to stepping back into the high frequency grocery and consumer goods industry at a time when the loyalty marketing industry itself is transforming," he added.  

"Loyalty practitioners are realising that the value on the table is actually as much with the light buyers as it is with the regular, high loyal buyers, and the implications this has to programme design and marketing communications are both exciting and transformational.” 

Back in May, DFS Group reimagined the luxury shopping experience at DFS Hong Kong, Causeway Bay. Just relaunched on 1 May, the DFS store at Hysan Place underwent an interior makeover with an enriched assortment across beauty & fragrances, sunglasses, toys and gifts, as well as a dedicated space for the much-anticipated “Beauty Collective" concept.

Since its soft launch in January, the Beauty Collective lineup has been expanded to house a selection of new brands across the four pillars of lifestyle, skincare, haircare and technology.

This immersive space allows customers to engage with the most coveted beauty brands from around the world. Beauty Collective also offers bespoke interactive and personalised consultations, including skin and hair analysis, one-on-one tailored regimen recommendations, and a Try & Love complimentary three-day beauty trial kit for those seeking new beauty staples.

In addition to the DFS curation of in-demand beauty brands and cult favorites, 10 new highly sought-after artisanal fragrance brands such as Le Labo, Byredo, Penhaligon’s, Maison 21G as well as Matière Premiere which is sold exclusively at DFS have been added to the line-up for an elevated sensory shopping journey at DFS Hong Kong, Causeway Bay.

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