Samsonite Partners with CITCON to Bring Chinese Mobile Payment Options to Stores in the U.S.
Santa Clara, California, February 26, 2019 – CITCON, the cross-border mobile payment and commerce solution leader, today announced the partnership with Samsonite, the worldwide leader in superior travel bags, luggage, and accessories. Through the partnership, Chinese travelers visiting the U.S. will be able to pay using Alipay and WeChat Pay when making purchases at select Samsonite stores in popular destinations including New York, Las Vegas, California, and Hawaii.
Over the years, luggage bags have constantly evolved to suit the lifestyle of the modern-day traveler. For more than 100 years, Samsonite has leveraged its rich design heritage to create unparalleled products that fulfill the on-the-go lifestyle needs of the business professional. China is one of the most important international markets for Samsonite. Seven of Samsonite’s nine brands have been introduced to China, ranging from entry-level American Tourister to contemporary luxury Samsonite.
Accepting Alipay and WeChat Pay at stores through CITCON solution, not only allows Samsonite to provide a seamless checkout experience for Chinese customers who expect the same payment experience overseas, but also capitalize on the marketing opportunities to target and engage over one billion Chinese consumers who are already actively using these two platforms.
“We’re pleased to be partnering with CITCON and are excited to offer our guests a mobile payment option they are familiar with,” said John Mullins, Senior VP, and GM of Direct to Consumer for Samsonite.
“Mobile payment has reshaped how retailers interact with consumers and travel retail is a major growth engine for many retailers.” said Wei Jiang, COO and President of CITCON, “We are excited to partner with Samsonite to provide the mobile payment solution to help them better serve Chinese customers and drive business growth.”
The latest statistics from the China Tourism Academy showed that Chinese tourists made 140 million outbound trips in 2018, up 13.5% year-on-year. The number of outbound Chinese tourists was expected to hit the record high at 7 million during the Lunar New Year holiday that beings on February 5th, according to Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency. In 2018, mobile payment in the Chinese outbound tourism market saw an increase in both the rate of use and the proportion of transactions, 69% of Chinese tourists paid with their mobile phones while abroad. On their most recent travels overseas, Chinese tourists surveyed paid for 32% of transactions with mobile phones, overtaking cash for the first time, which was used only 30% of transactions, according to the Nielsen report.
About CITCON
CITCON is a cross-border mobile payment and commerce solution leader, enabling merchants to accept QR-based mobile wallets in-store and online on a global scale. Among the payment options supported by CITCON, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and China UnionPay are the most popular brands, with over one billion active consumers. On top of payments, CITCON also allows merchants to run marketing and loyalty campaigns through our partner network. Trusted by thousands of merchants in North America and Europe, including Caesars Entertainment Group, DFS Group, Nordstrom, Kering Group, LVMH Group among others, CITCON offers solutions for businesses to drive omnichannel commerce growth in a variety of industries ranging from Retail, e-Commerce, Hotel, Food & Beverage, Transportation, Entertainment to Education. CITCON was Founded in 2015 by Chuck Huang, a serial entrepreneur and payment veteran with over a decade’s experience in both US and China, and received $10M venture funding from leading VCs (Zhen Fund, Cybernaut) in Silicon Valley and China. For more information, please visit citcon.com
About Samsonite
Samsonite is the worldwide leader in superior travel bags, luggage, and accessories combining notable style with the latest design technology and the utmost attention to quality and durability. For more than 100 years, Samsonite has leveraged its rich design heritage to create unparalleled products that fulfill the on-the-go lifestyle needs of the business professional. For more information, please visit www.samsonite.com.