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Mimi Lau

Thousands of shoppers flocked to Guangzhou's first duty-free shop when it opened its doors yesterday, offering imported goods at up to 60 per cent below market prices.
German infant formula, Japanese diapers and Taiwanese face masks flew off the shelves at the Guangzhou Meijoy Best E-Commerce in Zhujiang New Town.
Many shoppers were happy that the new store meant they could save on the time and expense of visiting Hong Kong.
Lifts and escalators to the fourth floor of the posh GT Land Plaza shopping mall, where the store is located, were temporarily closed to manage the crowds. The store, which was offering more than 200 kinds of duty-free goods, mostly items for daily use, was heaving by noon, two hours after it opened.
Shelves of diapers were wiped clean.
But the sight of overwhelming crowds, especially customers having to queue for up to 45 minutes to pay for their shopping, did little to deter bargain-hunters.

"Please come back after a coffee break or place your order with our online shop, where we have plenty of stock. There's free courier delivery nationwide. Order today and get your goods tomorrow," the store's general manager Zhang Jianhua said over a loudspeaker.
"We didn't expect this many customers, but we have safety measures in place," he said.
"We are letting only 50 customers in at a time and are also trying to divert some to our online shop."
But the store's online shop, which offers a wider range of products from Bottega Veneta handbags to Osim massage chairs, was also overwhelmed, with its website either crashing or taking more than an hour to load.

The shop is part of a central government drive to experiment with "business-to-business-to-consumer (b2b2c) commerce" in various cities. Goods on sale - sent directly from Guangzhou's bonded zone - are not subject to tariffs.
The shop is meant for customers to inspect goods before they place orders online, although the store provides some retail services.
A similar but much larger shop is to open soon in the city's Nansha district.
Online shoppers' orders were inspected by customs before being shipped, Zhang said.
Purchases under 500 yuan (HK$395) are tax free.

To many consumers on the mainland, duty-free shopping is a blessing. Shopper Joanne Lin, 28, said she went to Hong Kong four times a year, and spent up to 4,000 yuan each time.
"I'm not sure if these products are cheaper than in Hong Kong, but they are definitely going at competitive prices, even with the currency differences," Lin, the mother of a three-year-old child, said.
"In Hong Kong, we bought at least a dozen tins of infant formula each time before the two-tin limit was imposed."
One popular brand of infant powder, Aptamil, retails for 268 yuan in Guangzhou - a 12 per cent premium over the Hong Kong price. The Guangzhou duty free shop's price was 198 yuan.
"Having a duty-free shop in Guangzhou will spare us having to make those trips to Hong Kong," Lin said.
"It will save us time and money, and we won't have to face Hongkongers' discrimination anymore, too."
 
 


Crowds of shoppers flock to Guangzhou’s first duty-free store

Chinese shoppers empty the shelves at Guangzhou's first duty-free store on its opening day on Friday. Photo: Mimi Lau

The store, Guangzhou Meijoy Best E-Commerce, in a posh shopping mall in Zhujiang New Town, was crowded with excited bargain-hunters. Photo: Mimi Lau

Shoppers remained undeterred despite having to queue at least 45 minutes to pay for the goods. Photo: Mimi Lau

Imported brands of infant formula proved highly popular among the shoppers. Photo: Mimi Lau

News

China

Customers say the store will save them from having to make frequent trips to Hong Kong


Hundreds and thousands of Chinese shoppers flocked to Guangzhou’s first duty-free shop that opened on Friday to get their hands on imported goods up to 60 per cent below market prices.


Crowds of shoppers flock to Guangzhou’s first duty-free store

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Customers say the store will save them from having to make frequent trips to Hong Kong

Customers say the store will save them from having to make frequent trips to Hong Kong