"As of January this year, Australia-based wine conglomerate Treasury Wine Estates is in charge of the sales, marketing and distribution for the whole of China for BPhR's popular Bordeaux wine brand Mouton Cadet, Chilean wine brand Escudo Rojo and several other wines.
TWE also announced its new e-commerce collaboration with Tmall, the Chinese online retail platform operated by Alibaba Group, which allows Chinese customers to purchase Mouton Cadet and Escudo Rojo online.
"Our partnership is a significant milestone for TWE in China as we continue to expand our country-of-origin offerings to consumers, and position TWE as the premium wine supplier of choice," says company CEO Michael Clarke, speaking at the ceremony.
Clarke is confident about the strength of TWE's distribution network in China, which he hopes will drive marketing and sales for Baron Philippe de Rothschild's wines.
"As for the main imported wines sold in China, the top three are French, Australian and Chilean. With TWE and BPhR together, you get the first three imported wines in the Chinese market. Our portfolios are complementary," Rothschild says.
Meanwhile, a group of Chinese brand ambassadors from BPhR will work closely with TWE to ensure their plans for improving distribution, brand availability and brand awareness all get put into practice.
"When you put your wine on e-commerce platforms, you can tell stories about your wine online so that customers can learn about it. Also, e-commerce gives you customer insights－what kind of bottles they want to buy at certain times."
Wu Mingfeng, general manager of TWE China, agrees.
"Wine is not an expensive import any more, but an affordable everyday product for Chinese customers. You need to figure out what kind of situations they need to drink wine, and e-commerce offers such insights," Wu says.
"The Chinese wine market is fragmented. It's important for us to educate the market and help customers understand more about wine," he says.
Fang Wai, general manager of food business in Tmall, says Chinese drinkers want to be different from others and have special wines, but they may not know what they need.
"With our data, we can show wine companies how to market for themselves to different kinds of potential customers," Fang says.
"Wine promotion is like music－there's jazz, rock and folk music for different kinds of fans. Data allows us to understand customers' specific needs, what they like and why, and what we can do about it."
According to Tmall's data, people born in the 1980s and 1990s are the main online consumers for alcoholic drinks. More and more young Chinese are getting used to purchase alcohol online due to ample supplies, good prices and direct delivery."
TWE Price at posting:
$17.50 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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