CDFG President, Charles Chen has told TRBusiness that its huge resource of information on Chinese travellers – powered in part by parent company CITS, the ‘no 1 travel company in China’ – fills him with confidence that CDFG’s new stores at Hong Kong Airport will perform well.

 

Chen also confirmed to TRBusiness that CDFG has submitted a bid for a retail tender at Shanghai Pudong Airport whilst revealing that the deadline was 09.30 this morning (Shanghai local time). [More on this below].

 

Today, Duty Zero – a joint venture between CDFG and Lagardère Travel Retail – opened eight high-concept liquor and tobacco stores at Hong Kong Airport in what is a significant milestone for both CDFG and Lagardère Travel Retail.

 

“This is a really big day for China Duty Free Group,” Charles Chen told TRBusiness this morning. “Hong Kong Airport is very important for China Duty Free Group because it is the first overseas project for us so it’s very exciting.

 

“Everyone that has had a part to play in the building of these stores is very very happy. Our shelves our beautiful and the design of our stores is very beautiful. Of course in the future I hope our sales will also be very good.”

SUCCESSFUL HANDOVER FROM DFS

When asked if the company has been able to raise the bar, after incumbent travel retailer DFS Group bowed out of the tender race for the Liquor & Tobacco tender last year, Chen was reticent to compare operations.

 

“I always respect our competitors and I think DFS has done well in past years at Hong Kong Airport, but I think we are in an excellent position to thrive.

 

“CDFG is a typical Chinese company and we are lucky that we know the Chinese travellers very well. We have studied their behaviour and we hold a lot of information on their behaviour. We know their shopping habits, by age, by gender, so we are lucky…we know the Chinese travellers so we are in a position where we can select the best products for them.

 

“We are lucky because not only are the Chinese customers looking for international brands, but they are also looking at Chinese liquor and tobacco products, so as a Chinese company we have direct connections with these Chinese brands so its good for them and us.

 

“For me personally I respect DFS because they do very well, but perhaps they were not so lucky [here, in previous years].”

 

 

 

CITS – DOMINANT FORCE IN ASIA

As is well-known CDFG’s parent company China International Travel Service Corporation Limited (CITS) is a dominant force within the travel and tourism sector in Asia.

 

“Our parent company is the no 1 travel company in China, maybe in Asia. So we have a lot of information at our disposal through our group, through our travel agency and through the hotels,” adds Chen.

 

Chen is not worried about passenger traffic at HKIA and believes that Chinese travellers will only continue to increase.

 

 

HEALTHY SUPPLY OF CHINESE TRAVELLERS

“There a lot of Chinese travellers coming through HKIA and it’s still a popular place for them to visit so I think they will only increase in the coming years.”

 

 

However, High pax numbers have not always translated into strong sales at HKIA – or any other airport for that matter – as TRBusiness pointed out to Chen. When asked if he was confident that the high numbers of Chinese passengers would actually be enticed into the stores, instead of passing them by, he said.

 

“Yes [I am confident]. Obviously we have introduced a lot of promotions for the grand opening, but we also have others in the pipeline for the year ahead. But I know we will manage these stores properly and I feel very confident that these stores will perform well.”

 

Chen is also keen to point out that it’s not only the Chinese customers who they are catering too and insists that stores have been designed with an East meets West feel, which should encourage foreign visitors to shop from what Chen believes is a ‘great variety’ of products.

 

“They will know they are in Hong Kong, but there is also a great variety of brands on offer,” adds Chen. “This is why I feel very confident that these stores will do well.”

 

CDFG SUBMITS SHANHAI BID

This is a very busy and exciting time for the company, but perhaps also tense as Chen confirmed that by 09.30 this morning (Shanghai local time) China Duty Free Group had submitted its bid for a retail tender issued by Shanghai Pudong Airport.

 

 

It was on 30 June last year that Chen confirmed to TRBusiness that CDFG had acquired 51% of Sunrise Duty Free, which operates at Beijing Capital International Airport (T2 and T3), Shanghai Honqqiao Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport. In this respect, CDFG is effectively the incumbent operating through Sunrise.

 

Chen said he could not divulge any more detailed information on the Pudong tender, such as other interested companies, at this time