CHINA. The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to announce the appointment of Zhang Yimei as Chief China Representative to head a newly established Hainan-based entity.
Until April, Ms Zhang was Deputy General Manager at Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free Co. Ltd (HTDF) in Sanya, where she played a leading role in the retailer’s successful development since its opening in December 2020.
Earlier in her highly distinguished career she worked for China Duty Free Group from 1995 to 1997 and 2001 to 2006 both as a buyer for confectionery, tobacco, liquor and electronics and as Business Development Manager and Secretary of the Board and Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Downtown Duty Free Store.
Ms Zhang, a Chinese national, also served renowned Singapore food & confectionery specialist Focus Network Agencies with great distinction for 17 years, driving the company’s entire China duty free business. Among the standouts of her career was her leadership role in building the first (and still biggest) chocolate boutique in a Chinese airport – The Cocoa Trees at Haikou Meilan International Airport.
Based in Haikou and Sanya, she will lead The Moodie Davitt Report’s multi-pronged development in Hainan specifically and Mainland China generally. In July the new entity will open an office in Haikou (details to follow), with a team led by Ms Zhang providing a range of services to boost the travel retail sector in Hainan and across China.
The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie said, “We are thrilled to welcome Yimei to this newly created leadership role of our burgeoning Chinese operation. Her professionalism, knowledge and integrity is renowned in travel retail circles and we will benefit immensely from those qualities as we develop our Hainan and China services.
“We have been deeply committed to the Chinese travel retail market since our founding in 2002, having co-organised the inaugural China Travel Retail Summit that year with CDFG and King Power Group (Hong Kong). I have visited China countless times during the subsequent years and have lived in Hong Kong, China since mid-2020. Now that the travel constraints have been removed, I plan to spend a great deal more time in Hainan and other key Chinese travel retail locations and bolster our presence and coverage.
“We are the only international travel retail media to have a WeChat presence; to have supported and visited the Hainan Expo; and to commit time, resources and support to China’s travel retail sector. Yimei’s appointment represents a critical ‘next-step’ development for us, one that will be complemented by some exciting local partnerships to be announced in the weeks and months ahead.” ✈
