HARMAY airport shop: Key takeaways
- HARMAY expands in eastern China with a Hangzhou airport store and its first Anhui location at Hefei MixC
- The stores continue its distinctive design approach, drawing on aviation nostalgia in Hangzhou and agricultural heritage in Hefei
- Airport retail could introduce HARMAY to a wider audience, building familiarity beyond immediate purchases.
Beauty shopping before boarding usually comes with the hard deadline of a flight. HARMAY (話梅) is bringing its theatrical approach to retail into that window, opening a store at Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport’s Terminal 4 alongside its first Anhui location at Hefei MixC.
The two openings give the beauty and lifestyle retailer different ways to reach shoppers: through a city shopping trip and a visit fitted around a flight.
In Hefei, the brand follows its practice of giving each store a distinct design. Its HARMAY BARN concept draws on local agricultural imagery. An artificial sun, grain-diverting equipment and transport-line installations find home in the new space.
The opening builds on HARMAY’s entry into airport retail in 2025 while extending HARMAY’s presence across eastern China
Hangzhou plays things differently . The airport store uses a retro-futuristic aesthetic inspired by aviation’s golden age, incorporating travel imagery and airport symbols. Its assortment spans established international and niche beauty brands, personal care and lifestyle products, catering to purchases before departure.
The opening builds on HARMAY’s entry into airport retail in 2025 while extending HARMAY’s presence across eastern China. It’s two more wins for a brand that’s recently landed a big client in a Kardashian’s fragrance line. But how useful is HARMAY’s theatrical style in an airport?
The Dao view: A useful stopover
An airport store introduces HARMAY to shoppers who have never visited its city locations, including travellers from places where it has no presence. That gives the Hangzhou opening a potential role beyond immediate sales: building familiarity.
The theatrical design matters here because it gives passing travellers something to remember HARMAY by. A passenger may have little time to explore, but the encounter could encourage a visit to another branch or a search online. The opportunity is to turn a convenient stop into the beginning of a longer relationship with the retailer.
