Wangfujing has opened its first store in Hainan, the duty-free shopping haven in China where sales boomed during the pandemic when Chinese consumers could not travel abroad. The company held a lavish opening ceremony on January 18, just ahead of the Chinese New Year rush. The property, with a total construction area of over 1.1mn sq ft (100.000m²), is self-owned and will be expanded in three phases in Wanning City in the southeast of Hainan. Under the branding, WFJ Duty Free, the new operation is a starting point for the company’s dual tax + tax-free business. Wangfujing wants to rely on Wanning’s unique coastal culture and tourism features to help drive traffic, as well as its name which is an iconic national brand in the world of Chinese retailing. Over the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year period, Wangfujing can also rely on pent-up travel demand to generate traffic, now that China has dropped its zero-Covid policy.