Chinese livestreaming superstar Viya fronts Hainan IEDB video to promote May Expo

CHINA. Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development (Hainan IEDB) has launched a video fronted by the hugely popular livestreaming celebrity Viya (薇娅) – see her profile below – to promote the inaugural China International Consumer Products Expo to be held from 7 to 10 May 2021 on Hainan island.

[Click on the icon to hear Viya promote the China International Consumer Products Expo]

Hainan IEDB is a government agency established by the Hainan government in April 2019 to drive the ambitious development of Hainan Free Trade Port. The Moodie Davitt Report works closely with the Bureau to promote Hainan.

NOTE: Any brand wishing to exhibit at the China International Consumer Products Expo should contact Hainan IEDB Global Media Officer Ruslan Tulenov at lusilan@investhainan.cn or via his LinkedIn page.

Viya, the queen of Chinese ecommerce livestreaming

In a recent profile, SupChina described Viya’s livestreaming popularity as “staggering”. Indeed it is, Bloomberg reported that she can draw more viewers – 37 million this May — than the finales of Game of ThronesBreaking Bad, and the latest season of The Bachelor.

“She’s made more profit in one day (Single’s Day 2019, US$385 million) than Aston Martin does in one year. She’s sold everything — car fresheners and GM rice, noodles and houses, razors and rockets (designed to launch satellites into orbit),” the title notes.

Her popularity has soared during the COVID-19 crisis. Viewing figures for her evening show – Taobao’s most-watched ecommerce livestream — doubled during China’s COVID-19 lockdown.

Jing Daily reported that Viya will not feature a product in her live stream unless it has been rigorously tested by her and her team. Every day, prior to her streams, she spends around four hours testing and reviewing products to be featured, and only with her final permission can a product be added to the line-up, the title reported. On 10 October 2019, she broke her own sales record once again, generating revenues of around US$49.7 million in a single day.

Click on the image to read the report on Viya from Jing Daily, a Moodie Davitt Report content partner

Viya’s ‘girl next door’ popularity has been enhanced by her social conscience. SupChina reports that she has used her influence to boost anti-poverty campaigns, championing local products from poorer parts of China. During the pandemic, she visited the epicentre of Wuhan and featured products from the  city. She’s promoted new forms of high-yielding rice, educating her vast audience on China’s reliance on grain and wheat.

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:

  • Comment & analysis on the seismic impact of the new offshore duty free policy in Hainan since 1 July
  • The potential of new offshore duty free allowances across categories from beauty to fashion and watches and from wines & spirits to consumer electronics
  • Major interviews with and profiles of China Duty Free Group, CNSC, Hailvtou Sanya Downtown, Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development and others, with a special focus on the ambitious Hainan Free Trade Port project
  • Beyond Hainan, we examine the rebound in the China domestic market, assess prospects for Chinese airports and hopes for an eventual return to international travel. With input from leading travel retailers in the Mainland, Macau and Hong Kong markets
  • The ecommerce drive: Assessing the potential of the partnership between travel retail’s long-time market leader Dufry and the digital powerhouse Alibaba; plus digital strategies at CDFG and other major players
  • With contributions from our content partners Globuy, iClick, Jessica’s Secret and DutyFree Expert on trends among Chinese consumers and the duty free market

Contact Irene@MoodieDavittReport.com to partner with The Moodie Davitt Report for this special edition.

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