CHINA. China Duty Free Group (CDFG) today opened new downtown duty free stores in Xiamen on China’s southeast coast and Qingdao in the southeast of Shandong Province.
CDFG described Xiamen and Qingdao as important coastal centre cities with international ports, and as scenic tourist destinations. The tourism industry in both cities is well-developed and the supporting infrastructure abundant, the retailer noted.
The Qingdao store is being developed in phases. Phase one comprises 355sq m of shopping space, offering a high-class range of beauty products, sunglasses, watches, jewellery, leathergoods and other accessories. The 331sq m Xiamen store features a similarly wide category range.
Both stores are located within major shopping centres that already attract large local and visitor footfall. The CDFG shops each offer a wide array of world-famous brands, including a particular focus on cosmetics labels such as Estée Lauder, Shiseido and Lancôme.
The opening of the downtown stores extends the duty free shopping opportunity in both cities, and complements the respective airport duty free operations, CDFG said. “The opening of the Xiamen and Qingdao stores will provide more time for shopping and a more comfortable experience for overseas visitors to the city,” it commented.
CDFG also offers an airport pick-up service for goods bought in-store. The retailer is carrying out a series of joint marketing activities with the shopping centre sto reach out to international consumers and to build awareness of the duty free and wider retail offers.
Store openings mark acceleration of expansion drive
CDFG said that the Xiamen and Qingdao openings are in line with a sustained expansion policy that has seen the retailer develop airport stores in Beijing and Shanghai (both with subsidiary Sunrise Duty Free) and Dalian in recent times. CDFG said that it is committed to supporting China’s deeply ambitious ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative – a massive infrastructure development project that will stretch from East Asia to Europe. In recent years, CDFG has also opened stores in multiple locations outside the Mainland, including offshore duty free on Hainan Island; plus a combination of downtown and airport stores in Cambodia, Hong Kong and Macau.
The Qingdao and Xiamen openings have further enhanced CDG’s downtown presence in Chinese cities, the retailer said. In the future, CDFG said that it will continue to leverage its role to help China’s booming tourism industry, combining experience in procurement, management, with investment capital and extended membership services to enhance the international competitiveness of China’s duty free sector.
