CHINA. China Duty Free Group (CDFG) and Wangfujing Group have snapped up contracts to operate pre-departure downtown duty-free stores – a key extension to the Chinese travel retail ecosystem announced in August and implemented progressively over a three-month period from 1 October.
CDFG bid successfully for three downtownn duty-free shop projects in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Xi’an {in related news, CDFG was also subsequently awarded the contract to open a similar store in Fuzhou; click here to read our coverage}.
Wangfujing Group has been awarded the rights to the Wuhan downtown store, which it will jointly operate with Wushang Group.
Promoting consumption growth
CDFG pledged to fulfil the responsibilities of a central enterprise and fully promote the expansion of the downtown duty-free concept across its new locations.
Together with its existing six downtown duty-free stores*, which are also being transformed to the new trading model, CDFG will now operate nine such operations.
CDFG said: “The establishment of downtown duty-free shops is a concrete manifestation of implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s instructions and promoting consumption growth.
“It not only helps to enhance the consumption vitality of the cities and accelerate the construction of international consumption centre locations, but also effectively guides the return of overseas consumption by Chinese people and promotes the consumption by foreign personnel in China.”
The group said the benefits of the new system had been accentuated by the National Immigration Administration’s enhanced transit visa exemption policy introduced on 17 December.
This extends the time foreigners can remain in the country from the original 72 hours and 144 hours to 240 hours, “further providing a rare development opportunity for the development of downtown stores”, CDFG commented.
CDFG said its winning bids in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xi’an provide the company with opportunities to leverage its existing strengths; integrate existing procurement and operational resources; and create a new retail model that fuses tax-paid and duty-free shopping, imported + domestic goods, and offline to online retail.
Driven by the new downtown policy, the group vowed to continue promoting the high-quality development of China’s duty-free industry based on standardised operations, driven by innovation and service as the core.
Ancient and modern
Wangfujing said the Wuhan project combines the city’s unique cultural characteristics to create an innovative immersive shopping experience.
The Wangfujing Duty Free concept integrates the traditional mortise and tenon joint [the oldest and strongest joint used in woodworking -Ed] skills of Wuhan’s famed Yellow Crane Tower with the Yangtze River Bridge’s modern architectural charm, resulting in a unique combination of classic and modern, the group said.
The project will focus on ‘national trend characteristics’ through accurately assessing the diverse needs of tourists, Wangfujing said. The company promised to work with well-known brands to create an omnichannel cooperation model that provides tourists with more abundant shopping choices and experiences.
Wangfujing Group said it will lean on its 70 years’ retail experience ito cooperate closely with Wushang Group in launching a diversified business format. This will be underpinned by a tax-paid and duty-free formula based on Wuhan’s regional customs and cultural essence, the company noted.
The project is located in the commercially vibrant Wushang Mall and will provide domestic and foreign tourists with more convenient and higher-quality duty-free shopping services, Wangfujing added.
Further results of downtown duty-free bids will be announced in due course.
*As reported, the nationwide network of stores embraces six existing downtown stores run by China Duty Free Group and the transformation to the new model of CNSC (12) and China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Asset Management Co stores. In addition to Wuhan (Wangfujing), Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xi’an (all CDFG), new downtown duty-free stores are being opened in Changsha, Chengdu, Fuzhou (see our latest story here) and Tianjin. ✈
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