Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Strange Nature Gin from New Zealand, celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere.
CHINA. Look closely at today’s photo selection from China Duty Free Group’s (CDFG) expansive shopping offer at Haikou Meilan International Airport Terminal 1, writes Martin Moodie. Notice something in common besides the impressive brand line-up and the quality merchandising?
T1 is predominantly a domestic terminal but thanks to the island’s offshore duty-free status, it also boasts a thriving duty-free business. However, the Hainan authorities – and CDFG – only want that business to be of the traditonal kind, i.e. buyers purchasing for themselves, or for gifting, not for mass reselling.
Since the crackdown on the daigou market in early 2023 (a development mirrored in South Korea), travelling consumers buying for resell purposes face stiff penalities and even jail.
Hence the commonality between the images – the red signs stating in no uncertain terms that reselling is banned. The messaging, in Chinese and English, could not be any clearer.
- It is illegal to sell duty-free goods for profit without obtaining a license.
- It is strictly forbidden to use the tax-free policy of Hainan’s outlying islands to carry out illegal and criminal activities of smuggling.
- Using other people’s information on outlying islands to buy duty-free goods for profit may constitute illegal smuggling.
- Illegal lending of personal off-island duty-free purchase quota for profit may bear legal responsibility.
The so-called normalisation of the South Korean and Hainan duty-free markets has caused plenty of pain, particularly for beauty brands, but the development must ultimately be welcomed by anyone who cares about the reputation of the travel retail sector. And therefore these very clear signs of the times from CDFG should be applauded. ✈
