The Advantages of the International Supermarket

Thank you to Charles Carrard, Commercial and Communication Director at French Wine Paradox who gave me the information to be able to complete this analysis.

Charles Carrard said “Building your wine brand image in China consists in having a presence at Carrefour”

I would like to show in this article all the advantages of a strong presence at international supermarkets such as Carrefour, Auchan, Walmart, Tesco…

Let us see the advantages that international supermarkets offer:

Chinese consumers trust international supermarket chains for two main reasons:

-Awareness of international supermarket chains

-International supermarket chains: a symbol of quality, thus, can be assured of no fake products and no fake bottles of wine

Rich Chinese people go to shop at Carrefour

-International supermarkets chains = symbol of affluence and Western way of life

-Wide selection of wines (you can find cheap wines as you can find expensive one)

The Off-trade channel helps to create brand awareness:

-The more Chinese people buy wine in Carrefour, the more they become familiar with the different brands of wine

-“In order to create brand awareness, it is important to be first at Carrefour” says Charles Carrard

To get feedback about wine consumers

-Having a strong presence at Carrefour implies that in-store representatives are of higher quality and are motivated sellers who promote your wine at the supermarket

-These sellers are precious because they are able to observe and report the buying patterns and behaviors of Chinese consumers

→ Understanding the target market

An indirect advantage: mastering the Off-trade channel can help to attack the On-trade channel:

-The awareness created in the supermarkets helps to tackle the On-trade channel.

→ Having a famous wine brand in the Off-trade channel is a good selling point to be able to sell to actors of the On-trade channel.

-Brand is the key to the Chinese consumer: If your wine brand is famous on the Off-trade channel, people prefer it over other unknown wines.

Having a strong presence at international supermarkets presents several advantages. We know that “brand is the key” but on that specific segment, sometimes, the first key is international supermarkets which create or reinforce the brand image of your wine.

The question now is: How importers succeed in selling wine to international supermarket chains?

From zhongguo-wine.com