Recently, China Duty Free Group (CDFG), the country’s leading duty-free operator, announced that it has recently appointed Chen Sujing (Yvonne Chan) as Group Chief Operating Officer. In this role, she will be responsible for advancing several core strategic areas, including overseas business expansion, capital operations, and offline omnichannel retail operations.
According to publicly available information, Chen brings more than 30 years of experience in the luxury and fashion retail sector. She spent 15 years at Burberry, where she held a number of senior positions, including Vice President of Travel Retail Asia, Senior Vice President for China, and Senior Vice President of Beauty and Partner Businesses for Asia-Pacific. She has also served as China Managing Director for brands such as Diptyque, Byredo, and Eve Lom. Prior to joining CDFG, Chen was President of Greater China at Swarovski, where she led channel optimization and brand revitalization initiatives.
CDFG stated that Chen’s extensive expertise in brand strategy management, deep engagement in the Asia-Pacific market, innovation in travel retail channels, and the development of omnichannel operating systems aligns closely with the company’s current push toward globalization and consumption upgrading. Her cross-regional management experience and strong capabilities in resource integration are expected to become key drivers in accelerating strategic execution and fueling business growth.
Notably, the appointment comes at a critical juncture in the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Just last month, the full-island customs closure of the Hainan Free Trade Port was officially launched. As China’s largest travel retail operator, CDFG has already established a significant competitive advantage in the Hainan market. As the market enters the post-closure phase, the company’s strategic focus is set to shift from consolidating scale advantages to enhancing operational quality and systematically building global capabilities. Against this backdrop, Chen’s appointment marks another important step for CDFG on its path toward greater professionalism and internationalization.
According to the latest financial results, in the first three months of 2025, China Duty Free Group reported revenue of RMB 39.862 billion, down 7.34% year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 22.13% year on year to RMB 3.052 billion.
