CHINA. In a stellar early start to the Golden Week holidays which officially began two days later (1 October), Hainan Development Holdings-controlled Global Premium Duty Free (GDF) Plaza posted a new daily sales record of more than CNY60 million (USS$9.3 million) on 29 September.
The store was packed that morning as consumers lined up at different GDF Plaza counters to buy their favorite duty free products such as mobile phones, cosmetics & fragrances, alcohol, jewellery and others.
Demand was particularly heavy at the Apple store on the second floor with crowds of consumers waiting in a long queue to buy the iPhone 13 series of mobile phones.
“I saw the promotional activities of GDF Plaza earlier, so I bought a flight ticket to Haikou,” said Ms. Mai, a tourist from Guangxi province in southern China. “I’m so surprised to see so many famous international brands and products today at the store, so I’ll continue to shop in Haikou during the National Day holiday.”
Noting that she had decided to treat her family to a trip to Hainan during the festive season, she said what attracted her most was the offshore duty free shopping.
A spokesperson for Hainan Development Holdings Co (HDH), which runs GDF Plaza, said: “In the fourth quarter of 2021, Hainan Development Holdings actively launched the National Day Holiday Duty Free Shopping Carnival to continue to promote and boost Hainan’s offshore duty free shopping sales volume.
“Additionally, the opening of phase two of GDF Plaza has further enriched categories and the range of global luxury brands in Hainan, and the shopping environment is becoming more luxurious and comfortable.”
In a further boost, GDF Plaza and Douyin jointly launched the ‘Douyin & GDF Plaza Night’ and National Day Duty Free Shopping Carnival at an evening ceremony on 29 September.
Douyin is China’s hugely popular short-video social media platform. Douyin City is a promotional campaign that portrays lifestyle scenes and various aspects and attractions of different cities in China. ‘Douyin & GDF Plaza Night’ is part of that series.
Accompanied by the music of ‘Hello Haikou’, the ceremony featured a main stage, GDF Plaza pop-up shop, giant gift box check-in point and colourful interactive task games.
Over 30 KOLs in Haikou were invited to participate in the event. Many island residents and tourists joined in the activities and games, which were designed to increase interaction between retailers, brands and consumers.
“This event is very novel, especially the shape of the GDF Plaza pop-up store which is very distinctive. I’ve already finished collecting badges for my shopping mission card, so I’m ready to redeem the prizes,” said Ms Wang, after participating in Douyin & GDF Plaza Night.
