Global travel retail and food and beverage leader Avolta, headquartered in Switzerland, has made its first exhibition appearance at the 2026 China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) held in Haikou, marking the start of a fresh, ambitious phase for the firm’s 16-year operation in the Chinese market.
With a footprint spanning 70 countries, Avolta runs a diverse portfolio that includes duty-free shops, convenience retail outlets, and food and beverage locations around the world. In an exclusive interview with China Daily on the sidelines of the expo, Michael Wong, Avolta’s Managing Director for North Asia, highlighted that the CICPE offers an unmatched platform to demonstrate the company’s full global capabilities and deepen collaborative ties with domestic partners, particularly in China’s Hainan province.
“We are pleased to be participating in this year’s expo for the first time as an exhibitor,” Wong stated. “It provides an important platform to present Avolta’s capabilities, strengthen relationships across the industry, and support closer connections between brands, partners, and markets.”
Avolta’s journey in China dates back more than 16 years, with existing operations spread across major transportation hubs and cities including Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Wuhan. Earlier this year, the firm marked a historic breakthrough when it secured the bid to launch new duty-free operations at Shanghai Pudong International Airport’s Terminal 1 and Satellite Terminal 1. This win is notable as it marks the first time in 26 years that an international operator has won such a large-scale duty-free tender in China’s key airport sector.
Wong described the tender victory as a major milestone and the solid cornerstone for all of Avolta’s future business expansion across China. During the 2026 CICPE, the company took the opportunity to launch a key customer initiative: Club Avolta, its first global loyalty program. The program enables registered members to earn and redeem rewards across both retail and food and beverage outlets at more than 5,100 Avolta locations worldwide. To mark its expo debut, all new sign-ups from CICPE visitors receive complimentary automatic upgrades to gold membership, jumping directly from the standard entry-level silver tier.
In addition to the loyalty program launch, Avolta also presented a carefully curated exhibition of top-selling products sourced from 12 of its key global markets, including Italy, France, Switzerland, and Japan, giving Chinese consumers and industry partners a first-hand look at the breadth of its global supply network.
When discussing growth prospects in Hainan, Wong emphasized that Avolta sees strong, long-term potential in the region, driven by China’s Hainan Free Trade Port policy and the recent implementation of visa-free entry policies for international visitors that have already spurred a sharp rise in international tourist arrivals. The company is actively exploring collaborative opportunities across the island and stands ready to scale up its footprint the moment market conditions align for expansion.
“We are very determined to grow in China in the long term, and we want to stay,” Wong said. “When the opportunity comes, we’re ready.”
Beyond its core mission of bringing premium international brands to Chinese consumers and travelers, Avolta has also outlined a secondary strategic goal: supporting high-quality Chinese brands to access global markets through the company’s extensive international retail network, positioning itself as a two-way bridge connecting the Chinese market with global consumer markets.
The 2026 China International Consumer Products Expo runs through Saturday in Haikou, Hainan, attracting hundreds of global brands and industry players from across the world seeking to tap into China’s growing consumer demand.