CHINA. Welcome to the first edition of 穆迪达维特中国旅游零售报告 – The Moodie Davitt China Travel Retail Report, a digital magazine dedicated to our industry’s hottest market and to the travelling nationality that has dominated the travel retail sector for much of the 21st century.
The new digital title will be published in Chinese and English four times a year across multiple platforms. This launch first edition has been timed to coincide with the China International Consumer Products Expo (Hainan Expo) to be held in Haikou this week on 26-30 July.
The China Travel Retail Report complements The Moodie Davitt Report’s acclaimed coverage on our main website (www.MoodieDavittReport.com) and on our popular WeChat Official Account launched in March 2021 – the latter now attracting almost 2,900 followers, a very encouraging number in a niche retail sector.
Each issue will be divided into distinct sections:
• Interviews 人物访谈
• Company profiles 企业介绍
• Data and analysis 数据与分析
• Brand highlights 品牌亮点
In this launch edition we examine the background to June’s big news that China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp (China Tourism Group) – parent company of the world’s largest travel retailer, China Duty Free Group (CDFG) – had relaunched its application for a secondary listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
China Tourism Group – which is already listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange – had postponed its planned secondary listing in December 2021. That decision was linked to difficult capital market conditions driven by the COVID-19 factor and other factors. The decision to reapply is therefore of particular significance not just to CDFG but to the wider travel retail industry as it indicates a real confidence that the business climate, so hard hit by the pandemic, is set for a strong improvement in the future.
We also carry a heavyweight interview with Shenzhen Duty-Free Group Chairman You Jiangwei, who talks passionately about the company’s Hainan business at Mission Hills, Haikou, operated in partnership with DFS Group.
“Together with DFS, our partner in this project, we want to do something different from our competitors in Hainan,” he says in a reference to the elegant, high-class retail offering that the store offers, particularly in the wines & spirits and beauty categories.
It’s an important point. We think that differentiation between travel retailers is one of the keys to greater success for Hainan province’s offshore duty free in the future. Price alone is not enough, retailers must create experiences (both online and offline) that enrich, engage and entertain.
There are challenges but the future of China’s travel retail sector is unquestionably bright. We see tremendous growth potential in both the domestic and international sides of the business.
Critically, this is built on an unrivalled government-level understanding of and support for the sector – nowhere more so than in Hainan, where the far-sighted offshore duty free policy introduced in 2011 drove a US$9.5 billion business ten years later. That figure is set to surge in coming years.
The expected development of Korean-style downtown duty free shops on the Mainland where Chinese travellers can shop pre-departure will be another boon to the industry. Add in the tremendous advances in online retailing by China’s top travel retailers; the boom in domestic terminal retailing; and further growth in hotspots such as Macau and (in due course) Hong Kong and it is clear that despite the challenges of the past two and a half years, China’s travel retail industry is set for a golden age.
穆迪达维特 中国旅游零售报告 – The Moodie Davitt China Travel Retail Report intends to showcase that golden age in what we hope will be an informative, compelling and engaging way. Please enjoy the launch edition.
