THQ Opens 22 Brands at Haiyou Duty-Free Store in China... "Duty-Free Business Sailing Smoothly"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] THQ (The HQ) is successfully establishing its duty-free business in China by attracting numerous domestic brands to the Hainan duty-free store.

On the 14th, THQ announced that 22 domestic brands in cosmetics, fashion accessories, electronics, and alcoholic beverages have entered the Hainan You Duty-Free Store (海南旅投免稅品有限公司, HTDF) in Hainan Province, China, marking its official opening.

On the 15th, THQ plans to officially open 10 domestic cosmetics brands, including Tony Moly, It's Skin, and Clio, mainly on the 4th floor. Additionally, 12 brands in fashion accessories, electronics, and alcoholic beverages such as Find Kapoor, O!Oi, Kirsh, Verutum, Vibrate, Cuchen, and Golden Blue will sequentially open from the end of this month. The company also plans to expand operations to include imported accessories and cosmetics brands.

HTDF, where THQ directly operates by attracting numerous domestic brands, is linked through travel agencies to tourists visiting Hainan. It is located just 5 minutes from Romance Park, the largest tourist attraction in Sanya and home to the Songcheng Performance, one of the world's top three shows, which is seeing a rapid increase in visitors.

THQ was allocated a space of 200 to 250 pyeong at HTDF, which is 100% owned by Hainan Tourism Investment Development Co., Ltd. This company is invested in by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China and is a state-owned enterprise similar to the Korea Tourism Organization. Based on this, THQ is accelerating the expansion of its duty-free business by introducing popular domestic brands to Chinese duty-free stores for the first time.

A company official stated, "Since last year, the Chinese government has significantly eased restrictions on Hainan duty-free shopping to stimulate domestic consumption, resulting in sales of 8.49 billion yuan in January and February this year, a 359% increase compared to the same period last year," adding, "The average daily sales related to duty-free in the Hainan region this year reached 28 million USD (approximately 31.25 billion KRW), transforming it into a massive shopping hub, and demand for Korean products continues unabated."

He continued, "With the growing demand for Korean products, THQ has successfully introduced popular domestic brands to HTDF, where visitor numbers are rapidly increasing," and added, "We expect to achieve visible results such as increased sales related to the duty-free business through continuous domestic brand entries in the future."