Changi Airport crowns 39-year-old Indonesian as its newest millionaire!

SINGAPORE, 15 January 2017 – It was a million dollar dream come true for Jakarta-based Ade Iskandar Roni as he beat seven other finalists to emerge as the Grand Draw winner of the 2016 ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ shopping promotion held this afternoon at Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 3, walking away with a cool S$1 million in cash.

All it took to land Ade Iskandar his million-dollar windfall was an adidas t-shirt that cost S$50 – the lowest-priced purchase among the eight finalists, and also the minimum spend required to participate in the Millionaire Draw. Ade Iskandar, a procurement personnel in a telecommunications company, had bought the t-shirt as a gift for a friend on his first trip through Changi Airport in October 2016, when he was visiting Singapore for the first time with his best friend.

It was a tightly-contested final as Ade Iskandar had to out-luck his new friends-turned-competitors from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates in an hour of heart-stopping action, played out in front of a 300-strong ‘live’ audience.

The eight finalists went head-to-head in the first three game rounds where they raced to board their flights, in games simulating a departing passenger’s journey through Changi. After checking in via Changi’s Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) kiosk by completing a puzzle, they went on to test their luck in picking the right boarding gate on Changi’s iconic Solari board, before five finalists moved on to the third round of shopping and dining. This round saw each finalist picking two items and matching the total cost of their selections to the lucky price that was revealed at the start of the game. Three finalists were eliminated.

When it came down to the final two – Indian finalist Animesh Singh and Ade Iskandar, excitement hit a new high. The audience witnessed the extraordinary stroke of luck from Ade Iskandar, who successfully plugged into the millionaire life by fitting a giant travel adaptor into the socket on the podium after a nerve-racking five tries! What followed was a heartwarming embrace shared onstage by Ade Iskandar and his best friend, who had flown in from Jakarta to show his support and share this magical moment.

Breaking down in tears of joy and visibly overwhelmed by the surreal experience, Ade Iskandar gushed, “I’m still shocked, nervous and in disbelief, but incredibly happy. I can’t imagine how much money a million Singapore dollars will look like, how big a stack it will be!”

When asked how he would spend his windfall, he said with a big smile on his face, “I want to bring my entire extended family to the Holy Mecca for Umrah first. I haven’t thought about what else to do with the money, but I hope to buy a car for my family too.”

Ade Iskandar added, “I’m going to visit Changi Airport every year from here on, and check in early to shop!”

‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ contributes to record year for concession sales

Changi Airport’s annual flagship campaign, also Singapore’s biggest retail promotion, played a pivotal role in driving concession sales in 2016. Sales at Changi rose 5% to over S$2.3 billion, an all-time high for the airport. Travellers from China, Singapore and Indonesia were the top spenders at Changi Airport, with Chinese nationals accounting for 30% of total sales in 2016.

Perfumes and cosmetics, and liquor and tobacco continue to be the two most popular product categories at Changi Airport, followed by luxury goods, electronics and gadgets, and chocolates and candies.

In addition to anchor promotions such as ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’,CAG is constantly looking to enhance the retail mix and experience to delight passengers. Collectible Changi Gift Cards were introduced for the year-end festive season in 2016, where CAG matched 5% of the total sale proceeds as a donation to its main beneficiary, NorthLight School. Pop-up activations such as the Male Grooming Club also surprised male travellers with complimentary pre-flight pampering. Ongoing developments of key digital platforms such as iShopChangi and the Changi Rewards loyalty programme also continue to keep customers returning for more rewards.

Ms Lim Peck Hoon, Executive Vice President of Commercial at CAG said, “We congratulate Ade Iskandar, our seventh Changi Millionaire and thank our passengers for journeying and shopping with us the past year. We are pleased to achieve yet another all-time high for concession sales at Changi Airport, which helps to keep Changi Airport’s aeronautical charges competitive.

She continued, “At Changi, the spirit of continual innovation underpins our retail strategy and drives many of our new ideas and developments – the opening of the second DFS Wines & Spirits Duplex at Terminal 2 that boasts the popular The Whisky House and the engaging Pokémon at Changi year-end celebrations are just two examples. We will continue to make shopping at Changi a fun and rewarding experience for all our travellers.”

More about ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’

The ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ retail promotion was first launched in 2010. Following its success, the campaign went on to become Changi Airport Group’s annual anchor shopping promotion, making six lucky shoppers at Changi Airport instant millionaires with its grand prize of S$1 million. The past winners are: Former deejay Ivan Rantung (2010) and business development director, Peh Hock Peng (2012), both from Singapore; an Australian engineer from Perth, Jessica Down (2011); an Indonesian business man, Irvung Tio (2013); Japanese engineer, Oiyama Seiichiro (2014) and Linda Tobin an Irish national (2015).

Into its seventh run this year, the 2016 edition attracted close to 1.2 million lucky draw entries from 225 nationalities globally, from 4 May to 31 October 2016. The top three groups of participants hailed from Singapore, China and Indonesia.

To participate in the Millionaire Draw, passengers and airport visitors alike simply needed to shop or dine at Changi Airport, with a minimum spend of S$50 in a single receipt. The number of winning chances increases exponentially with the amount spent – a $500 spend rewards the shopper with 100 chances.

For the first time in this promotion, an eighth finalist was picked from Platinum members of the Changi Rewards loyalty programme, in addition to the introduction of a seventh finalist picked from iShopChangi shoppers in 2015. Both Changi Rewards Platinum card members and travellers who shopped on iShopChangi received double the chances of winning this year.

Apart from Mr Roni, the other finalists won S$5,000 in cash. All enjoyed a three-night hotel stay in Singapore, with return airfare provided for non-Singapore residents.

The eighth run of the ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ will kick off in May 2017.