Uncorking a new market in China(1)
Wine has become the beverage of choice among China’s burgeoning nouveau riche and the world’s biggest names in wine are coming to China in the hope of targeting some of the 500 million Chinese consumers.
Photograph by: MARK RALSTON, AFP Getty Images
OTTAWA – It’s not an uncommon scene to witness Louis Vuitton-toting businessmen dilute their $500 bottle of Hennessy with Coca-Cola or shoot back their glass of red wine like vodka in China.
With growing salaries and more disposable income, the wealthy elite of the world’s second largest economy are increasingly looking for the next big luxury item to show off their wealth – even if they haven’t developed the palates of true connoisseurs.
With top French wines fetching record-breaking prices, Canadian wineries are trying the sell their liquid gold in hopes of cracking an emerging market.
Winemaker Holger Clausen knows a thing or two about taking risks. The high-stakes poker player made his fortune playing Texas hold ’em and invested his winnings to build Aces Winery in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.
“I have two passions in life – poker and wine,” said Clausen, who last month showcased his selection of red wine at a consumer trade show in the port city of Ningbo, about a three-hour drive from Shanghai.
With a translator by his side, Clausen mingled his way through the crowd, telling his story about hitting the jackpot at noon and catching the red eye to harvest grapes the next morning. The charm offensive proved successful. Aces’ 1,000-bottle shipment was sold out by midday.
It was Clausen’s first visit to China, and he suggests it will be the first of many.
Re-orders came in 12-fold for his poker-chip designed bottles, which are selling for between $30 and $102 in China; a 30-per-cent mark-up from the retail price in Canada.
He is also looking into commercial production to handle the demand for coming trade shows in China in August and November, when top hospitality buyers, politicians and dignitaries converge to order hot-ticket items.
Clausen said he’s received calls in the past from Chinese companies, but none was the right fit until Vancouver-based export and import company Pomer knocked on his door.
Pomer’s parent company, Mascube, is based in Ningbo, a mid-size city known to be part of the ancient Silk Road and one of the fastest-growing income areas in China. Mascube recently launched Hoy Import Mart, a members-only wholesale club where business owners and clients pay as much as 50,000 RMB ($7,340 Canadian) for their registration shopping cards
