The beauty giant brought a stellar roster of 15 different prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and haircare brands, underlining its commitment to the travel retail hotspot.
In this Moodie Davitt STUDIO video interview (bi-lingual English and Chinese) filmed during the Expo, The Moodie Davitt Report Chief China Representative Zhang Yimei sits down with The Estée Lauder Companies Global President Travel Retail Israel Assa.
Assa talks proudly of the beauty house’s recent slew of openings within China Duty Free Group’s Global Beauty Plaza (Block C) at cdf Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay.
He also introduces the high-touch experiences that Hainan travellers can expect at ELC’s Block C flagships.
He also discusses the important role that Hainan plays in growing ELC’s business in China travel retail, its ongoing commitments to sustainability and ID&E and why he believes Hainan offers a “tremendous opportunity” for growth.
Zhang Yimei: What role does a show such as the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) play in driving The Estée Lauder Companies’ (ELC) overall business and presence in China and in particular Hainan?
Israel Assa: The CICPE presents an incredible opportunity. It is a platform for us as a brand company to come and really expose our brands to the entire world, specifically here [in Hainan], to the government, to retailers, to media and to consumers at the end of the show.
Tell us more about ELC’s presence at Hainan Expo this year. What are your key goals and what brands, projects and initiatives are you showcasing?
This year, ELC is showcasing 15 brands. These are prestige beauty brands across all of our different categories including skincare, makeup, fragrance and haircare. We are really showcasing our leadership, both in sustainability as well as through our ability to create experiences for consumers. Something to highlight is that we reused the furniture from the Shanghai Expo (CIIE) to be showcased here in Hainan in line with our sustainability goals.
ELC recently opened a suite of dazzling new flagship boutiques in the Global Beauty Plaza (Block C) of the cdf Mall in Haitang Bay. What do these openings mean for The Estée Lauder Companies’ historical presence in Hainan?
I think it’s an incredible project. What China Duty Free Group has done is bold and ambitious, and we are really excited about the opportunity to be able to present our brands in a different way.
We have several initiatives, including a multi-level Estée Lauder flagship store, as well as a state-of-the-art M·A·C flagship boutique. We have a haircare studio for Aveda, brow studio for Bobbi Brown and cabines both for Estée Lauder and for La Mer.
So there’s a number of different experiences which are available only in Block C that are not available anywhere else. We’re really excited about bringing that to the Chinese and Hainan travellers.
As one of the leading beauty players in Hainan, how do you view the province evolving amid an increasingly competitive duty-free market?
We are really optimistic about what Hainan will bring in the future. We think there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity for growth. Block C is just one example of the opportunity for us to continue to bring the best of our brands to consumers here on the island. We are showcasing Block C as our flagship, but that doesn’t mean that we are abandoning all of our other retailers or points-of-sale throughout the island.
ELC has been championing sustainability, inclusion and social impact principles. How are these principles playing out in China generally and in Hainan particularly?
Being the number one player in the channel, we take our leadership very seriously. To lead means to lead not just in retail, but also in values that are important to us, such as sustainability as well as Inclusion, Diversity & Equity (ID&E).
First and foremost, ELC’s Breast Cancer Campaign supports over 60 organizations globally. In China, ELC supports China Women’s Development Foundation which focuses on providing financial assistance to women in need during breast cancer treatment.
So, there are a lot of activities and effort in what we do, both in terms of sustainability as well as ID&E.
Any final messages to the industry?
For us, CICPE is about being able to be incredibly present here in Hainan as well as in China travel retail.
We are very excited about the growth opportunities to come in this region. We know that we have the ability to engage and provide experiences to consumers that are novel and new. We think that Hainan offers an incredible opportunity to do that, and we will continue investing to do that in the future. ✈
