AsiaNet 87413

SANYA, China, Dec. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

Suning Group ("Suning"), one of the leading commercial enterprises in China,

Suning International, and Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co. Ltd. have

signed a strategic partnership agreement on December 25th in Sanya, a resort

city in south China's Hainan province. Both parties will leverage their

respective advantages to focus on logistics, commercial real estate, tourism

retail and other fields to carry out all-round and multi-level cooperation, to

integrate various industrial chains, and aid in the construction of Hainan Free

Trade Port.

COVID-19 has disrupted the tourism industry and struck the retail market. As

outbound tourists have returned substantially, the demand for shopping

duty-free goods overseas has shifted to China. Due to Hainan province's amiable

tropical climate, the Hainan Free Trade Port has become an even more popular

vacation destination for Chinese travelers compared to the pre-epidemic period.

Also, the new Hainan duty-free shopping policy inaugurated starting from July

1st this year that lifted the annual duty-free shopping quota for individuals

boosted Hainan's duty-free sales, and made Hainan an even more attractive

alternative for shopping duty-free goods amid the travel restrictions, analysts

said.

"Riding the strong growth momentum of Hainan Free Trade Zone fueled by

favorable policies, this strategic partnership has granted us a great

opportunity to expand our cooperation and bring prosperity to the area by

leveraging the global supply chain of Suning, as well as the company's rich

experience and deep know-how in omni-channel smart retail and robust capability

to offer premium customized experiential services," said Steven Zhang, Vice

President of Suning Group.

"Through this landmark agreement, we hope to bring more business opportunities

to Hainan with our partner," said Chen Tiejun, Chairman of Hainan Tourism

Investment Development Co., Ltd, "Together with Suning, we will further

strengthen our cooperation and launch more projects in the region, making our

respective contribution to the development of Hainan Free Trade Zone."

Prior to the signing ceremony, Suning International visited the offshore

duty-free complex that Hainan Tourism Investment will officially open in Sanya

starting from December 30.

Hainan Tourism Investment is a provincial state-owned enterprise approved by

the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. Inaugurated on

April 13, 2020, the second anniversary of the establishment of the Hainan Free

Trade Zone, it is commited to developing  a full tourism industry chain, and

building a partnership platform to cultivate Hainan's international tourism

industry.

Hainan Tourism Investment received its offshore duty-free trading license for

surrounding islands in August, as well as its license for the import of

duty-free consumer goods.

Suning International is the global business arm of Suning Group. This segment

is committed to the construction of import and export supply chains, as well as

online and offline smart retail, with the purpose of serving growing consumer

demand from Chinese customers for imported products. In addition to Suning

International, Suning has developed its own high-end retail service platform,

Sup's. A crucial component in Suning's global retail strategy and the

pioneering example of Suning's international brand philosophy, Sup's is

committed to the introduction and incubation of global high-end quality

experiences, services, and emerging specialty products.

Stimulating tax-free consumption in China's leading tourism hotspot

The joint agreement between Suning and Hainan Tourism Investment will leverage

Suning's strong global supply chain advantages. With strengths in the import

supply chain for products directly sourced from overseas, the partnership will

deliver cosmetics products, personal care products, designer home furniture,

health products, foodstuffs and more to consumers in Hainan and beyond. Suning

International now has 9 regional offices globally and has set up a development

blueprint covering tax-free trade, cross-border trade, general trade, B2B and

B2C model. The company continues to build and improve customized service

solutions for overseas high-quality brands and has upgraded to a global brand

service provider.

In addition, Suning has a number of high-end brands in its network that excel

at experiential consumption, besides Sup's, there are Luxury hotel Bellagio

Shanghai, top Japanese Restaurant KUROGI, which are both under Suning

International's umbrella. These businesses have the potential for bringing

brand activities, pop-up stores and various experiential activities to Hainan

in future.  

In fact, Suning already has over 70 physical stores located in Hainan, and

plans to build an additional offline entity in the future off the back of its

agreement with Hainan Tourism Investment.

About Suning Group

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 RMB 665.259 billion (approximately US $97 billion) and continued to top the

list of Internet retailing category. Adhering to the enterprise mission of

"Leading the Ecosystem across Industries by Creating Elite Quality of Life for

All", Suning has strengthened and expanded its core business as retail through

a corporate ecosystem comprised by multiple vertical industries, including

commercial real estate, financial services and sports. Suning.com, the main

subsidiary pioneering in online and offline retailing, has been listed in the

Fortune Global 500 for four successive years from 2017 to 2020.

SOURCE:  Suning Group

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=381163

   Caption: From left to right, Xian Guojiang, Director of the International Office, Hainan

Tourism Investment; Xie Zhiyong, Chairman and General Manager of Hainan Tourism

Duty-Free Goods Co; Chen Tiejun, Chairman of Hainan Tourism Investment; Steven

Zhang, Vice President of Suning Group; Melody Jia, Strategy Director of Suning

International, Suning Group, and Fan Huaiwei, General Manager of Hainan

Suning.com

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=381164

   Caption: Prior to the signing ceremony, Suning International visited the off-shore

duty-free complex that Hainan Tourism Investment will officially open in Sanya

starting from December 30.