CHINA. Suning Group, one of the country’s leading commercial enterprises, Suning International, and Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co, which opens its first offshore duty free store in Hainan tomorrow, have signed a strategic partnership agreement to deliver commercial opportunities in the island province.
The parties said that they would leverage their respective advantages to focus on logistics, commercial real estate, tourism retail, and other fields. Together they will aim to integrate various industrial chains, and aid in the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port.
Prior to the signing ceremony, Suning International visited the offshore duty free complex (below) that Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co will officially open in Sanya tomorrow, 30 December.
As reported, Hainan Tourism Downtown Duty Free Shopping Complex will open in a prime location at No. 303 Ying bin Road, Jiyan.
Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co subsidiary Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free Co Ltd has a strategic agreement with Lagardère Travel Retail covering supply and services.
The store is spread over 95,000sq m, including 2,500sq m of bonded warehouse space with an extensive representation of brands across key categories including watches and jewellery, suitcases & bags, perfume & cosmetics, fashionwear, sunglasses, food, wines & spirits, and others.
“COVID-19 has disrupted the tourism industry and struck the retail market. As outbound tourists have returned substantially, the demand for shopping duty free goods overseas has shifted to China,” the parties said in a joint statement. “Due to Hainan province’s amiable tropical climate, the Hainan Free Trade Port has become an even more popular vacation destination for Chinese travellers compared to the pre-epidemic period.”
That attraction has been enhanced greatly by the enhanced offshore duty free shopping policy introduced on 1 July, they added. The policy has made Hainan an even more attractive alternative for shopping duty free goods amid travel restrictions elsewhere.
“Riding the strong growth momentum of Hainan Free Trade Zone, fuelled by favorable policies, this strategic partnership has granted us a great opportunity to expand our cooperation and bring prosperity to the area by leveraging the global supply chain of Suning, as well as the company’s rich experience and deep know-how in omni-channel smart retail and robust capability to offer premium customised experiential services,” said Suning Group Vice President Steven Zhang.
“Through this landmark agreement, we hope to bring more business opportunities to Hainan with our partner,” said Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co Chairman Chen Tiejun. “Together with Suning, we will further strengthen our cooperation and launch more projects in the region, making our respective contribution to the development of Hainan Free Trade Zone.”
About the agreement stakeholders
Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co is a provincial state-owned enterprise approved by the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. Inaugurated on 13 April, 2020, the second anniversary of the establishment of the Hainan Free Trade Zone, it is commited to developing a full tourism industry chain, and building a partnership platform to cultivate Hainan’s international tourism industry.
Founded in 1990, Suning Group ranked second among China’s top 500 non-state owned enterprises in 2019 with annual revenues of RMB665.259 billion (approximately US$97 billion).
Suning International is the global business arm of Suning Group and is committed to the construction of import and export supply chains, as well as online and offline smart retail. It serves growing consumer demand from Chinese customers for imported products.
In addition to Suning International, Suning has developed its own high-end retail service platform, Sup’s. A crucial component in Suning’s global retail strategy and the pioneering example of Suning’s international brand philosophy, Sup’s is committed to the introduction and incubation of global high-end quality experiences, services, and emerging specialty products.
| Stimulating duty free consumption in China’s leading tourism hotspot The joint agreement between Suning and Hainan Tourism Investment will leverage Suning’s strong global supply chain advantages. Based on strengths in the import supply chain for products directly sourced from overseas, the partnership will deliver cosmetics products, personal care products, designer home furniture, health products, foodstuffs and more to consumers in Hainan and beyond. Suning International now has nine regional offices globally and has set up a development blueprint covering tax-free trade, cross-border trade, general trade, and B2B and B2C models. The company continues to build and improve customised service solutions for renowed overseas brands and has upgraded to a global brand service provider. In addition, Suning has a number of high-end brands in its network which embrace experiential consumption, besides Sup’s, there include luxury hotel Bellagio Shanghai, top Japanese restaurant KUROGI, both under Suning International’s umbrella. These businesses have the potential for bringing brand activities, pop-up stores and various experiential activities to Hainan in future, the statement said. Suning already has over 70 physical stores located in Hainan, and plans to build an additional offline entity off the back of its agreement with Hainan Tourism Investment. |
Hainan Island: Travel retail’s global hotspot The Moodie Davitt Report will publish a Hainan Island Special Report with the China edition of The Magazine in February 2021. Written by Martin Moodie and Dermot Davitt, it will explore how the offshore duty free business in China has become critical to the world’s leading brands across many categories.
The report will feature:
Contact Irene@MoodieDavittReport.com to partner with The Moodie Davitt Report for this special edition. |
