beijingparis louis vuitton is considering opening its first duty free store in china on the emerging luxury island hub of hainan according to two sources in a move that would mark a new approach for the worlds largest luxury label the brand which is the main profit engine of french luxury giant lvmh is known for maintaining an iron grip on distribution and famously never offering discounts on its leather monogrammed bags yet executives are looking at the possibility of opening a duty free shop in the haitang bay shopping centre in sanya through an agreement with the malls stateowned operator china duty free group the sources said advt the plan which would help louis vuitton capitalise on pentup demand for luxury goods by chinese shoppers the sectors most avid consumers was unveiled by brand executives at an early september presentation in shanghai according to a person who attended it louis vuitton declined to comment when asked about plans for a duty free shop in hainan which has boomed as a highend shopping destination during the covid19 pandemic with chinese consumers unable to travel abroad china duty free group the largest duty free operator in the country did not reply to a request for comment some european and us brands including keringowned gucci and ferragamo both of which are highly exposed to travel retail compared to peers sell products in the shopping centre and there are signs of growing interest from highend watch and jewellery labels but lvmhs higher profile fashion and leather goods brands which include dior are not present in hainan beyond selling their range of perfumes and cosmetics a louis vuitton duty free shop on the island would be one of only a handful of such retail outlets worldwide for the label the global duty free industry was worth 86 billion in 2019 before the pandemic knocked the figure down by nearly half to 45 billion in 2020 according to generation research a provider of travel retail and duty free shopping statistics international travel restrictions mean that spending is being rapidly repatriated to china and the chinese government is keen to keep it that way according to analysts at bernstein advt last year the chinese government tripled the amount that consumers could buy duty free in hainan to 100000 yuan 15635 a year and lifted certain purchase limits the disruption in international transportation caused by the pandemic hurt the grey market driven by daigou professional shoppers who buy highend products abroad in europe but also in south korea on behalf of mainland chinese that helped duty free sales in hainan which has surged as much as fivefold compared to prepandemic levels while a government target for sales of 700 million yuan by 2030 implies annual growth of 37 according to bernstein analysts international travel will come back but a strong company presence in hainan will become paramount they said gaining a foothold in hainan gives luxury brands access to a broader