At the riverside construction site today, Palaszczuk government ministers joined Star Entertainment Group CEO Matt Bekier to announce DFS had signed up as a major tenant in the resort and casino development.

DFS – part of the Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Group – will take up 6000sq m of nearly 40,000sq m in retail, hospitality and entertainment floorspace in the precinct.

Bekier said for Queen’s Wharf to become a major drawcard, it was important to be “unique” with a diverse offering. DFS will fit out a three-level T Galleria Emporium in the heritage-listed Printery Building on George Street, as well as 16 luxury brand stores across the precinct.

“People don’t want to travel all over the world to have another generic experience of a luxury mall in Australia,” Bekier said.

“If you are a really committed shopper, we’ll make you a private shopping experience available at midnight with a glass of champagne. You can’t do that anywhere else, but we can do that here in Brisbane.”

With CBD stores generally only allowed to trade during business hours, and later on Thursday and over Christmas, it is not clear whether Queen’s Wharf would be given an exemption to trade laws.

Treasurer Cameron Dick, whose budget benefits from gambling taxes, said Queen’s Wharf would be opening as the world opened up after the COVID-19 pandemic.

DFS has a presence in Sydney and Cairns but Queen’s Wharf would be its biggest footprint in Oceania. The company, which has a major duty-free component, withdrew from Singapore Airport last year.

Star Entertainment Group will also benefit from gambling rival Crown facing a major setback in its plans for a new Sydney casino that could potentially also jeopardise its Melbourne operations.