Suning Partners with Hainan Tourism Investment Development to Expand Its Duty-Free Retail Market

On Dec. 28, China’s commercial giant Suning Group and its global business sector Suning International partnered with Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co. Ltd to expand its duty-free retail market. 

As a leading retailer in China, Suning International aims to meet Chinese customers’ growing demand for various imported products and services. With the pandemic disrupting the tourism industry worldwide, Suning saw opportunities in providing consumers with duty-free goods overseas without the need to travel.  

Hainan became a hot spot for retailers and shoppers after releasing its duty-free shopping policy, taking effect on July 1 this year. The policy lifted the annual duty-free shopping quota for consumers and motivated consumers to shop more. Also, Hainan’s amiable tropical weather makes the island a top vacation destination during the post-pandemic era. 

Hainan’s duty-free shopping policy is part of its Free Trade Port development to attract top Chinese retailers into the market. This policy has brought fortune to many firms. Department store operation leader, Shanghai Bailian Group, reported that its stock rose by the daily 10% limit to 23.97 yuan after the company announced it had applied for a duty-free license. 

“Riding the strong growth momentum of the Hainan Free Trade Zone fueled by favorable policies, this strategic partnership has granted Suning a great opportunity to bring prosperity to the area by leveraging our global supply chain advantages and rich experience in omni-channel smart retailing,” said Steven Zhang, vice president of Suning Group.

Suning International excels in its strong import supply chain directly sourced abroad. This partnership will allow consumers to enjoy shopping for cosmetics products, personal care products, designer home furniture, health products, and packaged food at great prices.

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The commercial giant is marching towards perfecting tax-free trade, cross-border trade, general trade, B2B and B2C models. Suning International now has nine regional offices globally and provides customized service solutions to overseas high-end brands like Luxury hotel Bellagio Shanghai, and top Japanese Restaurant KUROGI.

Founded in 1990, Suning is one of the leading commercial enterprises in China with two public companies in China and Japan. In 2020, Suning Group ranked second in the top 500 non-state-owned enterprises in China with annual revenues of 665.259 billion yuan (approximately $97 billion). 

The firm is planning to build an offline entity in Hainan to better expand its duty-free market in the future.