Ground for Global Expansion
Hotel Shilla has won the licensing to open its duty-free chain at Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong, accelerating the duty-free business in the global market.
The duty-free operator at Hotel Shilla said on April 5 that it has secured the licenses to operate fragrance, cosmetics and fashion accessories zones at the airport. The licenses for liquor and tobacco were given to China’s CDFG.
Getting the licenses in the Hong Kong airport following Incheon International Airport and Changi Airport in Singapore, Hotel Shilla has become the sole duty-free shop operator in cosmetics and perfume sector in the “Asia’s Three Major Airports.”
Around 75 million passengers used the Chek Lap Kok airport last year, with more than 100 airliners running about 1,100 airplanes per day, according to Hotel Shilla.
Hotel Shilla will open the shops around the end of this year. The licensing will expire in September 2024.
“The global strategy, which we have pushed forward since 2011, has come to pay off,” an official at Hotel Shilla said, adding, “We have secured a global business system to achieve our annual revenue target of 1 trillion won (US$900 million) in the duty-free business.”
In 2016, Hotel Shilla recorded some 500 billion won (US$450 million) in overseas sales, the largest in terms of revenue among its local rivals, including Lotte Duty-Free.