CHINA. Sinopharm-owned China National Service Corporation (CNSC) has recently completed upgrades across its three Chongqing stores.
The company’s arrivals and departures duty-free stores at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Terminal 3 reopened following a months-long renovation, while its Chongqing downtown store has also been revamped.
CNSC said the upgrades mark a key step in its evolution, with the outlets integrating high-quality services and Chinese product and culture showcases, the company said. The renewed stores bolster CNSC’s presence in the Western China city.
Differentiated positioning, seamless experiences
The three stores cover a combined 2,300sq m of duty-free and duty-paid retail space.
The airport departures store caters to pre-boarding shopping with streamlined displays and optimised passenger flows, and enables quick purchases and convenient pickup. Meanwhile, the arrivals store prioritises Chinese products and travel essentials to meet the immediate consumption needs of arriving visitors.
The downtown store, located in central Chongqing’s Changjiahui shopping complex, delivers an immersive shopping experience alongside an in-depth introduction to Chinese brands. The store features a dedicated ‘China Chic’ zone where customers can sample products and take photos against themed backdrops.
Leveraging this physical network, CNSC is accelerating its online platform development to complete a consumption loop that encompasses the “browse downtown, order online, collect at the airport” mantra.
Aesthetic uplift, domestic focus
CNSC said the renewals have achieved both an aesthetic uplift and a format enhancement across the stores, with new interior designs that blend modern styles with Chongqing’s regional character, resulting in more open layouts and smoother passenger flows.
In terms of merchandising, CNSC pursued a two-pronged strategy of “elevating global offerings while expanding domestic selections”. While retaining core categories such as fragrances & cosmetics, tobacco & liquor, fashion and food, the company has stepped up the domestic brand presence in the stores.
The stores now feature large selections of fine Chinese baijiu, speciality foods and cultural heritage merchandise, alongside eye-catching brand displays, art installations and experiential sampling areas.
“This turns duty-free stores from points of sale into windows for Chinese goods and culture, giving travellers a firsthand sense of the power of Chinese manufacturing and the allure of Chongqing,” CNSC said in a statement.
Full-journey service upgrade
As China rolls out a series of visa-free policies, inbound tourism and cross-border consumption have recovered sharply since Covid.
As a key tourist hub in Central and Western China, Chongqing leads the country in international passenger growth. By 16 August, Chongqing Airport had served over 2 million inbound and outbound passengers, up +35.4% year-on-year, including over 716,000 foreign travellers, up +86.1%, with European source markets showing particularly strong gains.
In response to rising international traffic and the diverse needs of global visitors, CNSC’s Chongqing stores have upgraded their services. The outlets now feature multilingual signage and bilingual price tags throughout, alongside smart translation devices and cross-border payment guides.
In addition, the stores now offer all major domestic and international payment methods including UnionPay, Alipay, Visa and Mastercard. This has brought down foreign customers’ checkout time to under three minutes per transaction, according to CNSC.
“Through differentiated positioning, retail scenario innovation, and upgraded services, CNSC’s Chongqing stores have forged a replicable model for integrating airport and downtown duty-free operations while championing domestic brands in travel retail,” the retailer said.
“Looking ahead, we will continue refining our footprint and standards to drive consumption repatriation, boost tourism spending and propel Chinese brands onto the global stage.” ✈
