CHINA. The fourth edition of the Oriental Travel Retail Observer (OTRO) has recently been published, with a focus on the new offshore duty free policies introduced by the Chinese authorities on 1 July.
OTRO is a research and publishing alliance between Jessica’s Secret, China Merchants Securities, and law firm Jincheng Tongda & Neal.
The partners describe the project, launched in July, as a first for China’s travel retail industry in presenting regular industry research, big data analysis, Chinese consumer surveys, and legal opinions.
The current 35-page edition looks at the impact of new offshore duty free policy and allowances. As well as updating readers on sales performance, OTRO also reported that the customs authorities are cracking down on violations of the rules to “resolutely purify the operating environment of the duty free market in Hainan”.
On 24 September, 219 passengers were punished for violating offshore duty free regulations, with customs imposing a penalty which means offenders “forfeit purchasing duty free goods on outlying islands within three years”.
Among the 219 violating regulations, 28 of them attempted to carry duty free goods off Hainan against the policies in place, while the rest attempted to resell duty free goods for profit.
OTRO also reports in depth on the recent activities of China Duty Free Group, including the company winning the bidding for a high-end retail commercial development – named the Phoenix Coast Project – in Sanya, the southernmost city in Hainan.
Elsewhere in this issue, the performance of the Korean duty free market is extensively covered. OTRO reports on sales at duty free shops in South Korea (also reported in detail by The Moodie Davitt Report on 29 September).
The above is a snapshot of the kind of content OTRO contains. If you are interested in a deep analysis of the China and Korean travel retail markets, we strongly recommend reading the new issue of OTRO, which you can access here.