Duty-free stores sell tiger-themed items

As the Year of the Tiger approaches, global luxury brands are launching limited-edition products.

Most items highlight the image of the tiger, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, and some others feature Chinese elements like the color red and Peking Opera.

At duty-free stores in Hainan province, tiger elements and red color can be seen almost everywhere. Limited-edition luxury items for Lunar New Year are a big hit, covering cosmetics, clothing, bags, watches and wine, among others.

"For the upcoming Year of the Tiger, Armani has launched limited-edition products, including jackets and woolen sweaters, which are selling well," says Yang Qiulin, a salesman of Emporio Armani in a duty-free store in Haikou, capital of Hainan.

Their stock of down jackets has already started to dwindle after hitting the shelves only a few days ago, he adds.

Li Chao, a tourist from Zhejiang province, bought a limited-edition eye cream with red packaging featuring a tiger at the Estee Lauder counter.

"It looks very festive and conveys a feeling of Spring Festival," she says, noting that the launch of limited editions will meet the demands of Chinese consumers.

China is an increasingly important market for global luxury brands, which suffered unprecedented difficulties due to the pandemic.

The Bain & Company Luxury Study 2021 showed that since 2019, the Chinese mainland's share of the global market has almost doubled, reaching 60 billion euros ($68 billion) in 2021.

Zodiac elements are an important part of traditional Chinese culture. The deep exploration of Chinese culture by international luxury brands reflects that they are trying to cater to Chinese consumers and integrate into the huge Chinese market, says Liu Feng, a researcher with Hainan Normal University.

The duty-free market is an important market for consumption of luxury goods.

Hainan reported 49.5 billion yuan ($7.8 billion) of offshore duty-free shopping in 2021, up 80 percent year-on-year. More than 81 million tourists visited Hainan in 2021, up 25.5 percent year-on-year, data shows.

China aims to build Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center by 2025 and a globally influential tourism and consumption destination by 2035.