Following China reopening (end of zero covid policy), and the Chinese New Year period, some distributors have already started restocking to answer increasing demand.
Which regional markets are currently restocking?
According to WBO, South performs better than North regions.
Guangdong province performed very well (according to Yanhong Mu who operates 300 stores, +50% of stores restocked after the festival). Sichuan province also faced a consumption boom, thanks to an increasing demand for wines, bought for gifts and family banquet.
Compared with southern cities, wine merchants in northern cities generally said the replenishment process has not yet started. The cold weather in the north led many people with purchasing power to spend holiday in the south.
Which channels are more active in replenishment?
Currently, there are more replenishment in the off trade, supermarket channels. Following the end of lockdowns, supermarkets faced massive demand; enterprises did group purchase and consumers also bought wines for the festival.
What are the products and price range concerned?
WBO found products with strong brand power and low prices sell better, it is consistent with the trend of wine consumption in recent years in China.
Table reds wines (price about 100 RMB) especially the core products of big brands (Rawson’s Retreat, Montes, Lafite Rothschild, TWE) and wines from Chile and South Africa were very popular. There is also a strong demand for Rhone Valley (France).
