CHINA. Dufry has opened eight Hudson Travel Essentials Convenience Bookstores at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in partnership with Bright Power Beijing.
The shops are being operated by Hudson Bright Power (Beijing) Commercial Company, a joint-venture between Dufry and Bright Power Beijing, a company which operates bookstores throughout China.
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport handled over 44 million passengers in 2016 and ranked as the fourth-busiest Chinese airport behind Beijing Capital International, Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun International airports.
The new Hudson Travel Essentials Convenience Bookstores opened just in time for Chinese New Year. They offer travellers “one-stop shopping with an international ambiance”, Dufry said. The products range from international snacks and soft drinks to Chinese cultural and destination souvenir items, magazines, books and travel convenience products, as well as digital and electronics accessories.
The Chengdu openings form part of Dufry’s plan to introduce the Hudson brand across China and to expand the retail concept globally.
“I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to Dufry for choosing Chengdu Airport as the first airport in China for this Hudson global initiative” – Chengdu Airport Vice General Manager Ming Kang
China is poised to experience significant growth in passenger numbers both at airports and railway stations, the company said. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, 2016 saw around 500 million air passengers in China, +13% ahead of 2015. The high volume of domestic passengers to be served with travel convenience products offers the perfect environment for Hudson, Dufry claimed. The same applies for other Asian markets with similar passenger profiles, it added.
Dufry Division CEO Asia Middle East and Australia Andrea Belardini said: “I am very proud to introduce our successful international Hudson convenience store concept to China with the opening of our latest shops at Chengdu airport with our partners from Bright Power.
“With its remarkable number of passengers, Chengdu is the ideal starting point to further grow in China, which is a very attractive market for us and where we see a considerable growth potential with our convenience concept. Besides the Hudson convenience stores, we are also able to offer our landlords a complete range of retail formats and solutions, from typical core categories to multi-brand category formats such as sunglasses, fashion watches, electronic, and leisurewear to name a few.
“In particular, I would like to thank our local partners of Bright Power (Beijing) Commercial Company and Chengdu Airport Authority for the trustful collaboration and support, which have enabled the opening of these shops.”
Chengdu Airport Vice General Manager Ming Kang added, “Hudson, as a leading international brand at airports, has extensive experience and successfully operates in the global airport retail business. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to Dufry for choosing Chengdu Airport as the first airport in China for this Hudson global initiative. Thank you for the recognition and trust given to Chengdu Airport.”
Bright Power was founded in 2005 as a book publishing company. In recent years it has evolved from books wholesaling into a retailer of books and magazines. The company has been restructured to become a “bookstore + culture creativity + travel souvenirs” travel retail operator at Chinese airports and high-speed railway stations.
Bright Power operates bookstores in four out of the ten major Chinese airports (Beijing Capital International T3, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao and Chengdu Shuangliu International). The company also operates bookstores at six of China’s top ten high-speed railway stations (South Beijing, South Guangzhou, South Shanghai, East Hangzhou, North Xi’an and Shenyang).
