Changyu aggressive in foreign wine brand acquisitions

Changyu red wine at a supermarket in Nanjing, April 2013. (File photo/CFP)

In line with overseas investment craze among Chinese enterprises, Changyu, China's leading wine brand, is actively seeking overseas acquisitions after establishing an investment company with €10 million (US$10.6 million) in capital in France last October, reports the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald.
Changyu is setting its sights on the five major wine markets of France, Spain, Italy, Australia, and America, where it is looking for potential acquisitions or agencies to help push sales on the Chinese market. The brand has bottlenecked at a 50% share.
"In order to make Changyu a topnotch international winery, we have to own a host of renowned brands, just like Constellation Brands of the US," said Zhang Yu, vice president.
According to its recently unveiled plan, the company intends to boost the share of imported wines to over 30% of its revenue, up from 2% in 2014.
Changyu is in talks with a number of wineries in Spain, Italy, Chile, Argentina, and the US, which are likely to bear fruit in the first half of this year. The company brought Roullet-Fransac of France under its fold in 2013.
The company intends to cut costs for imported wines through the direct takeover of foreign wineries, in order to tap the growing demand for foreign wines in China, according to Changyu manager. In the first two months of 2015, the amount of imported wines jumped 30% year-on-year to 58,000 tonnes, according to China's customs statistics. In 2014, the amount of imported wines inched up 1.59% to 380 million liters.
Changyu intends to become a major supplier of foreign wines in China, taking advantage of its sprawling distribution network of 405 stores under its direct management. It plans to expand this network to 665 by the end of the year.
Wine is also moving through the company's fast-developing e-commerce channels, the sales of which have been expanding at an annual clip of 300%-400% since its establishment two years ago.

Origin information: Want China Times