Jun 17, 2015 | DFNI Frontier |

CIDF sales director Andras Froemel, who will deliver a presentation on day two focusing on enhancing sales to Chinese travellers to Africa, told DFNIonline: “Right now we are expanding our presence across the region, entering new markets and introducing new products wherever we see a high rate from Chinese travellers. Our focus for phase one of this project is in airport travel-retail, mainly in the East, West and Central Africa. The next phase will be North and Southern Africa.”

Its primary airport locations are Algiers, Addis Ababa, Entebbe, Luanda, Maputo and Abidjan. In terms of portfolio Froemel said: “Our portfolio varies by location but we see our Yunnan Tobacco International brands such as YunYan, Ashima and Yuxi performing very well.”

The company’s business in the region may be small compared to other operations, but in terms of growth potential is very significant. “It is a challenging environment, but the Chinese are becoming more and more inclined to look beyond Asia and Europe for travel destinations. It’s crucial we are well placed here.”

Enlarging its current product range at existing African locations and looking at new markets is on the agenda, according to Froemel. “We are also exploring some diplomatic channels which have a high rate of Chinese customers.”

Froemel is in no doubt of the potential of CIDF brands to succeed in African duty-free markets. He explained: “Our brands are targeted almost exclusively to Chinese consumers. We concentrate on bringing brands at the correct price level to match the Chinese passenger mix, both for holiday makers and the migrant worker force. We believe there is good potential for African-themed promotions to tell a unique story which customers can then bring back home to China.”