Remy Martin cashing in on China’s growing luxury market
(Newswire : Channel NewsAsia)
Guilin, GUANXI PROVINCE: French cognac maker, Remy Martin, is cashing in on China’s growing luxury market. It recently unveiled a rare cask of its “Louis the 13th” cognac in the Chinese city of Guilin.
Remy Martin chose Guilin to debut its limited edition vintage Louis the 13 Rare Cask.
Patrick Piana, CEO, Remy Martin, said: “The launch of Louis XIII rare cask is very important to the brand Louis XIII and the fact that it’s in China is a very important symbol of the future of Louis XIII overall.”
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One consumer said: “Chinese people love wine and cognac hasn’t been promoted in a large scale here in the past however gradually Chinese people will learn to drink good cognac.”
Chinese drinkers are more accustomed to baijou or rice wine and whiskey and Remy Martin said it is not in the business of converting them.
Mr Piana added: “We’re not in a volume game so as to converting whisky drinkers, tequila drinkers, or vodka drinkers in other markets. It’s about making sure we cherish and nourish our brand to convert existing consumers to our brands.”
And it seems the group is going in the right direction.
[Source] – Channel NewsAsia’s China Correspondent Glenda Chong
[...] the commercials from Remy (see yesterday’s post), which targets a wealthier client, promotes images of peace, tranquility, class and sophistication [...]
This is definitely the case. However, I recently also spotted a Remy Martin product, at least that company is stated on the packaging as the manufacturer, that aroused my suspicion. It is bottle of wine named: Cabernet Polen 2000. According to the cardboard box in which the bottle is packed, it is a mix of three cabernet varieties, obviously ‘ carefully selected ‘ . The bottle looks and feels like a typical cognac bottle.
The Chinese nouveaux riches are big spenders, but not always with good taste. Many of them still confuse high price with high quality. While this often is indeed the case, this particular wine seems to be created specially to appeal to this market segment.
As it was a gift from a Chinese friend, who received it as a gift as well, I do not know the price of this wine. However, I a sure it will be steep.
If this is a fake product, then Remy Martin needs to worry. However, if is really is marketed by Remy Martin, to cash in on the gullibility of the Chinese nouveaux riches, then I think it is a token of bad taste, regardless of the actual taste of this wine.
I definitely agree Peter. That is a current worry of my own for my company’s wine products we plan on selling in Beijing. I’m going to do some research on this “Cabernet Polen 2000.” I’ll let you know what I find. Thanks for the heads up.
As for wine, Chinese are genuinely developing a taste for it, but the best way to cash in on that market will be to educate them in distinguishing a good wine from an ordinary one. Packing the latter in a fancy, cognac like, bottle may bring in some additional cash now, but will harm the market in the future.
Again, if this is a completely fake product, then Remy Martin is not to blame, but if it actually is their product, specially designed for the Chinese market, then they deserve our strong criticism. I have placed this bottle in my wine cellar to stabilise for a while. I will fill you in on the taste soon.