Estee Lauder, L’Oreal Suffer as China’s Duty-Free Spending Falls

Estee Lauder, L’Oreal Suffer as China’s Duty-Free Spending Falls

Unable to travel overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese consumers sparked a shopping boom in the southernmost province of Hainan, lured by the tropical island’s plethora of duty-free shopping malls.

Hainan's tourism retail industry has been in a 14-month slump with few signs of improvement. According to the latest data from Haikou Customs, the amount of duty-free shopping, the number of shoppers and the number of goods purchased have all fallen sharply in the first four months of this year. Beauty industry giants such as Estee Lauder, L'Oreal and Shiseido have been hit.