Recently, Haikou Customs released the data for the tax-free sales on Hainan Island in the first three quarters of this year. The sales amounted to 34.94 billion yuan ($4.78 billion), a year-on-year increase of 28.6%. The number of items purchased was 41.5 million, showing a growth of 6.7%, while the number of shoppers reached 5.25 million, a significant increase of 56.3%.
According to customs statistics, cosmetics, jewelry, and watches were the top three best-selling products in Hainan’s tax-free market during the first three quarters of this year. The sales amounts for these categories were 14.09 billion yuan ($1.93 billion), 5.01 billion yuan ($686 million), and 3.66 billion yuan ($501.1 million), respectively, representing growth rates of 4.8%, 71.4%, and 50%.
Customs officials explained that in the first three quarters of this year, eight tax-free shops in Hainan showed positive growth in sales. Among them, the Haikou International Duty-Free City, owned by China Duty-Free Group, the world’s largest single-duty-free shop, accounted for 16.1% of the tax-free sales in the province during the same period. It contributed to over 70% of the growth in tax-free shopping in the province.
According to the previously released interim report by China Duty-Free Group, the company achieved operating income of 50.837 billion yuan ($6.96 billion) and a net profit of 5.199 billion yuan ($712 million) in the first three quarters of this year, representing year-on-year growth rates of 29.14% and 12.33%, respectively.
