Robert Warren Miller

Miller was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on May 23, 1933, son of Ellis Miller, a bookkeeper and salesman, and Sophia "Sophie" Squarebriggs, a Canadian-born former governess.

Miller attended Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and graduated in 1955, with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and the Irving Literary Society.

Duty Free Shoppers (DFS)

The concept of "duty-free shopping" – offering "high-end" concessions to travelers, free of import taxes – was in its infancy when Miller and his former college roommate Chuck Feeney founded DFS on November 7, 1960.

DFS began operations in Hong Kong, where it still maintains its corporate headquarters, later expanding to Europe and other continents. Miller founded the private investment firm Squadron Capital in the early 1970s. DFS' first major breakthrough came in the early 1960s, when it secured the exclusive concession for duty-free sales in Hawaii and Hong Kong, allowing it to market its products to Japanese travelers. DFS eventually expanded to off-airport duty-free stores and large downtown Galleria stores, and became the world's largest travel retailer. In 1996, Feeney's interests were acquired by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), the French luxury goods group, for $1.63 billion.

Miller kept his shares and remains a significant minority shareholder (38%) in DFS alongside LVMH, which bought out Feeney's share. More recently, Miller targeted the emergence of mainland China's economic elite. To present its new merchandise, DFS has moved beyond the airport liquor-store venue and into store environments, seeking to market the broadest portfolio of brand names in the travelling marketplace. In 2010, the DFS Group had an estimated sales of about €2.2 billion. As of 2012, it has 150 stores in fifteen Pacific countries. Its downtown activities operate under the Galleria brand.

Miller was named the November 2010 Personality of the Month by The Moodie Report for his "advancement" of the "luxury goods industry's cause." That year, DFS celebrated its 50th anniversary at the DFS Galleria Sun Plaza store in Hong Kong, with a gala attended by 2000 guests, and featuring a performance by Wyclef Jean.

On August 3, 1965, Miller married Ecuadorian-born María Clara "Chantal" Pesantes Becerra. They have three daughters: Pia (b. 1966), Marie-Chantal (b. 1968), and Alexandra (b. 1972).

He owns the Gunnerside Estate in Yorkshire, one of the largest sporting country estates in Great Britain.

Associations

Miller is a trustee of the Asia Society, the Independent non-executive director and Member of the Remuneration Committee of Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd., and presidential councilor and trustee emeritus of Cornell University.