Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has announced it will boost its French footprint in China after becoming the exclusive importer and distributor of Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s portfolio of wines.
It will distribute brands including Mouton Cadet and Escudo Rojo in the Chinese market from January 2018.
The news follows TWE recently launching its own Maison de Grand Esprit brand of premium French wine in Asia.
Chief executive of TWE Michael Clarke said the group has been working hard to develop strong ties within the Chinese wine market.
“We are continuing to execute on our strategy to be the imported wine category leader in China by both volume and value,” he told AAP. “We are doing this by investing in closer, more efficient and strategic partnerships with existing and new customers and by positioning TWE as the wine supplier of choice across multiple brand portfolios and countries-of-origin.”
According to the IWSR global database, TWE is already the biggest supplier of imported wine by value in China.
Warehouse plans for China to cope with demand
TWE is also planning to establish warehouse facilities in China to stock Australian, US and French brands as demand increases.
The decision has been made to cut the time needed to get wine to customers and help customers stock a wider selection.
The facility will open in Shanghai later this year. TWE says the route-to-market improvement will reduce lead times for orders and allow customers to stock a broader range of brands.
