‘Blooming together’ – Annual cdf Global Shopping Festival promises “new travel retail ecology”

CHINA. China Duty Free Group (CDFG) is set to kick off its annual blockbuster shopping event, the cdf Global Shopping Festival, on 1 May.

With the theme of ‘Blooming Together’, this year’s campaign is designed to be an innovative retail event that integrates global consumer products with Chinese culture and aesthetics, according to CDFG.

Running through the end of May, the month-long shopping bonanza covers three major holidays: the Labour Day Golden Week (1-7 May), Mother’s Day (11 May) and 520 Day, the unofficial Valentine’s Day in China celebrated on 20 May.

Throughout the month, CDFG’s over 60 domestic and overseas stores as well as online platforms promise to bring a slew of “delightful experiences and great benefits”, and “build a new travel retail ecology driven by innovative scenarios and cultural experiences”, the retailer said.

New product launches and travel retail–exclusives

This year’s cdf Global Shopping Festival sees CDFG working with more than 1,000 overseas and domestic brands across all offshore duty-free categories to bring visitors a memorable retail feast.

Shoppers can expect new launches of spring/summer collections, previews of autumn/winter styles, as well as a variety of limited-edition products and exclusives.

These include CDFG exclusive sets by Estée Lauder and La Mer, an exclusive Qeelin x CDFG ‘Wulu’ ruby ​-inlaid necklace, and the debut of Hainan-themed duty-free exclusive jewellery by Chow Tai Fook.

An immersive experiential space highlighting Chinese design

Inspired by spring and traditional Chinese garden design, CDFG is decorating all its stores with new floral elements to celebrate the return of the cdf Global Shopping Festival.

The cdf Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex’s famous atrium will turn into a blooming garden adorned with Chinese design elements.

Consumers can have make-up services, wear traditional hairpins and have their photos taken in various themed zones, adding a cultural dimension to their shopping journey.

Festival-themed events celebrating special occasions

CDFG has curated a variety of themed promotions through celebrating the three different holidays.

cdf Haikou will organise traditional hairpin shows and make-up demonstrations during the Labour Day Golden Week and traditional Chinese music concerts for Mother’s Day. And for 520 Day, visitors can take part in fun activities where they express their love and send gifts to their loved ones through the mall’s large LED screens.

At the cdf Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay, a newly opened tennis court invites visitors to enjoy warm spring days while playing tennis outdoors and discovering several sports brands.

A variety of promotions and shopping benefits

In addition to various events and activities, the cdf Global Shopping Festival is also rolling out an array of promotions and benefits.

During Golden Week, customers can enjoy 5x points, discounts on cosmetics and popular products, extra points when purchasing designated brands, and additional discounts in return for a designated amount of spending across all CDFG Hainan stores.

Meanwhile, over 100 brands are taking part in the Super Brand Week event, offering brand-specific promotions. Highlights include the ‘Night of the Main Character’ series co-organised by cdf Sanya and The Estée Lauder Companies, which gives visitors the star treatment with luxury services and exclusive gifts to make them feel like the ‘main character’ in their lives.

Outside Hainan, CDFG’s airport stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and other cities, and overseas stores in Hong Kong, Macau and Sri Lanka, have all prepared special discounts, gifts as well as payment promotions, turning the festival into a truly global shopping carnival, CDFG said.

Creating a ‘third space’ in travel retail

Malt & More Whisky by cdf, the extraordinary 3,000sq m whiskies emporium opened at cdf Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex Last October has redefined the boundaries of travel retail, CDFG said. It has become a ‘third space’ that combines storytelling, cultural communication and sensorial exploration to create a one-of-a-kind whisky experience, the retailer added.

The museum houses an expertly curated selection of more than 1,400 whiskies, including over 400 bottles of ultra-premium, rare and exclusive products.

Here, whisky lovers can discover all top whisky brands in the world and enjoy interactive and personalised services to gain an in-depth understanding of the whisky production process and explore the unique flavours and stories of different brands.

In April, cdf Sanya was officially awarded the AAAA designation – the second-highest level in China’s rating system for tourist attractions – by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, making it the country’s first duty free commercial complex to receive this prestigious appellation.

CDFG said that throughout the cdf Global Shopping Festival, cdf Sanya will continue to “reshape Hainan’s tourism consumption landscape with its international brand mix, world-class architecture and immersive shopping scenarios”.

Omni-channel synergy and new downtown duty–free policy

This year’s cdf Global Shopping Festival embraces many of CDFG’s physical stores and online platforms, with the goal to bring consumers a full range of retail experiences through the retailer’s omnichannel power, the company said.

Participating entities include cdf Sanya, cdf Haikou, cdf Sanya Phoenix Airport store, cdf Haikou Mova Mall store, cdf Haikou Meilan Airport Duty store, cdf Qionghai Bo’ao store, cdf Macau Grand Lisboa store, Duty Zero by cdf’s downtown and Hong Kong International Airport stores, and ecommerce platforms such as cdf Mall Hainan and the cdf Sunrise app.

Thanks to China’s new downtown duty-free policy, introduced last October, CDFG has been actively preparing the openings of several downtown stores. The CDFG Dalian downtown store, launched last December, was the first store to open under the new policy.

Following Dalian, 11 more CDFG downtown duty-free shops in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Guangzhou will open this year.

CDFG believes these new additions will help highlight the commercial value of downtown duty-free by promoting Chinese brands to foreign audiences and create new retail scenarios.

Meanwhile, CDFG’s downtown network is developing tax refund services for departing tourists based on the newly introduced ‘instant tax refund’ policy.

The policy is designed to further strength the appeal of downtown duty-free shops as a showcase for Chinese products for foreign tourists and encourage the repatriation of overseas spending.

By leveraging the resource advantages of its parent company China Tourism Group, CDFG pledged to continue to deepen its ‘products + scenarios + services’ operational model and bring together global brands and other high-quality products.

It also intends to introduce immersive experiences, create a high-quality consumption ecosystem and help boost Hainan island’s development as an international tourism consumption centre. Read More