Moodie Davitt WeChat reveals a new look and puts the spotlight on Hainan

The Moodie Davitt Report WeChat Official Account is building a solid audience in China to bolster English-language readership of our other platforms

CHINA. The Moodie Davitt Report has published the latest edition of our weekly WeChat Official Account posts, with a special focus on Hainan and the hugely successful China International Consumer Products Expo (Hainan Expo).

The WeChat platform also shows a new look, under the direction of Penelope Zhou who has been appointed Chinese Editor at The Moodie Davitt Report.

Hainan Expo a “smash hit”

The WeChat update recapped some of the most important highlights from the Hainan Expo, which welcomed 1,505 companies and 2,628 consumer brands from 70 countries and regions (including China)

Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development (Hainan IEDB) Global Media Officer & Supervisor, Ruslan Tulenov, told The Moodie Davitt Report: “I’m very excited and so motivated with the achievements that we had for this Expo. I cannot wait to see the second China International Consumer Products Expo next year.”

The Moodie Davitt Report provided daily coverage of the event by working closely with our strategic partner in Hainan, Hainan Hinews Media Co, whose highly professional team were on site throughout the Expo providing reports, pictures, and videos.

Click here to view our On Location coverage of the inaugural Hainan Expo
‘Uber influencer’ Viya’s Hainan Expo livestream, featuring the special edition Luna, reached 17.7 million views

Foreo and Viya light up the Hainan Expo

The post also recapped Swedish beauty tech giant Foreo’s successful-showing at the event. Foreo was the official Beauty Devices Provider for the Expo. The company showcased a special-edition Luna Series, featuring the event’s mascot Yuan Xiao, against a backdrop of the Hainan’s signature tropical elements.

Chinese ‘uber-influencer’ Viya’s Hainan Expo livestream, featuring the special edition Luna, attracted 17.7 million views.

Hainan Q1 sales reach US$2.1 billion

The WeChat update also underscored the power of Hainan as a global travel retail hotspot and how China Duty Free Group (CDFG) continues to dominate the island’s offshore duty free market.

During the opening ceremony of the Hainan Expo, Hainan Governor Feng Fei told guests that sales at Hainan’s offshore duty free stores in the first quarter of 2021 reached RMB13.6 billion (US$2.1 billion), up +356% on the troubled equivalent period of 2020.

According to Goldman Sachs, CDFG parent company China Tourism Group Duty Free posted a +329% revenue increase year-on-year in Hainan during Q1 to RMB12.8 billion (US$1.96 billion).

L’Oréal Group deepens ties with Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free Co (HTDF) and CNSC

In other Hainan news, French beauty company L’Oréal Group expanded its travel retail footprint in Hainan by strengthening partnerships with two key Chinese retailers: the Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free Co (HTDF) and CNSC.

In partnership with the Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free Co (HTDF), L’Oréal Group marked the official opening of 14 brand zones, including Lancôme, Kiehl’s, Helena Rubinstein, Yves Saint Laurent and Shu Uemura, at Hainan Tourism Duty Free Shopping Complex.

The celebratory event, which coincided with the Hainan Expo, was held on the third floor of the new store, which opened in late 2020.

On 9 May, L’Oréal Group and CNSC cemented their new partnership at an official opening ceremony in the CNSC Sanya International Duty Free Plaza in Hainan. Lancôme and Kiehl’s are the first two L’Oréal Group brands to be represented at the new store, which opened last December.

Other L’Oréal Group brands will follow, including Biotherm, Vichy, Shu Uemura and Giorgio Armani.

(Left) L’Oréal Group is looking forward to more exciting brand launches at Hainan Tourism Duty Free Shopping Complex in the near future. (Right) Lancôme and Kiehl’s are the first two L’Oréal Group brands to be represented at the CNSC Sanya International Duty Free Plaza
Augmented reality meets omnichannel: The TripurX-developed e-shop offered an interactive AR-replica of Hennessy’s flagship boutique at the CDF Mall

TripurX and Hennessy create digital replica of Sanya store

The WeChat report also shined the spotlight on a striking digital collaboration between TripurX and LVMH-owned Cognac House Hennessy on WeChat. One of the partnership’s major highlights was a dynamic augmented reality replica of Hennessy’s flagship boutique at China Duty Free Group’s Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex.

The digital brand boutique — which was launched in April — also highlighted the Cognac house’s latest limited-edition release, the Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège by Refik Anadol.

The expression is the result of an exclusive collaboration with Anadol, a digital artist who developed a striking bottle design for the liquid.

DFS and Shenzhen Duty Free Group strengthen partnership

DFS and Shenzhen Duty Free Group also strengthened their partnership by signing a strategic agreement to cement their collaboration in Hainan. The agreement paves the way for further mutually beneficial opportunities.

They recently opened the Times DF x DFS Haikou Mission Hills Duty-Free Complex, with the second phase se to be unveiled in coming weeks with expanded product offerings and experiences. The complex, located within one of Hainan’s largest and most popular leisure resorts, will be completed over the next two years, eventually spanning more than 50,000sq m and boasting, among other highlights, the largest Beauty Hall in DFS’ global network.

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The Moodie View

Finally, The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie offered his insights on the keys to success of the pioneering consumer event and how it has solidified Hainan’s status as the new epicentre of the travel retail industry.

In his new WeChat column, aptly titled ‘The Moodie View’, Moodie said: “If anyone was in any doubt that Hainan had become the epicentre of the global duty free sector, then this month’s China International Consumer Products Expo (Hainan Expo) removed it. The event was a triumph on every level, attracting huge exhibitor and visitor numbers and even 50,000 consumers on its final day (10 May).”

Moodie noted how China’s ‘impeccable handling of the pandemic’ played a key role in the Expo’s success. He also underscored how the expanded offshore duty free policy has turned the island into the ‘lighthouse’ of travel retail.

(Left) DFS Group and Shenzhen Duty Free Group executives sign the strategic agreement to cement their collaboration in Hainan. (Right) An impeccable pandemic-response and the expanded offshore duty free shopping policy has made Hainan the ‘lighthouse’ of travel retail, Moodie said
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