Now in its eighth year, the China Roadshow 2019 will be engaging a wide variety of wine buyers in a mini trade-fair, master classes and a new-to-market program. The eight-day journey will have Australian wine exhibitors cover 5000 kilometres as they travel across mainland China.
The four cities were selected on several socioeconomic indicators including population growth, disposable income and consumption of alcoholic beverages. This will be the first time that Wine Australia has included Shenzhen and Tianjin in the Roadshow and the second time since 2013 for Kunming and Hangzhou.
To assist the China Roadshow’s exhibitors to become ‘China ready’, Wine Australia developed a Business in China web page that has useful resources and tools including a China Landscape snapshot report produced by Wine Intelligence, China Roadshow 2019 City Snapshots and WeChat 101.
In this bulletin, we discuss some of the highlight statistics for these cities.
Tuesday 21 May – Tianjin
Situated along the northern coast, Tianjin is one of the four municipalities in China managed directly by Beijing – Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin and Beijing itself. Lonely Planet notes that Tianjin is ‘a booming, yet laid-back city, with a pleasant river promenade and some charming, European-flavoured neighbourhoods’. The city hosts the third-largest population in China aged from 15 to 64 years according to Euromonitor International.
General facts – Source: Euromonitor International
- total estimated population aged 15–64 years is 12.5 million, which is forecast to decrease 3 per cent by 2030 as more people move into the 65 plus age bracket
- eighty-six per cent have access to the internet and all households have a mobile phone
- the number of households earning US$25,000 or higher is forecast to double by 2030; and
- household expenditure on alcoholic beverages and tobacco in Tianjin is 38 per cent more than the rest of China.
Other facts:
- Tianjin translates to ‘Ford of Heaven’.
- Dynasty Fine Wines Group Limited, a Chinese producer of domestic still grape wine, is headquartered in Tianjin. Dynasty is the first Sino-foreign joint venture wine enterprise in China with Tsinlien Group Company Limited and Remy Cointreau as its major shareholders. The company recently launched the Dynasty Air Dry Red Wines series, which is a new high-end product made using air dry methods with grapes harvested from Ningxia; and
- Tourism in Tianjin has been growing in recent years with top attractions such as the city’s multicultural historical heritage area.
Thursday 23 May – Hangzhou
Situated in the east near Shanghai, Hangzhou is home to the innovative e-commerce company, Alibaba. As the capital and largest city of the Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou is a rapidly developing industrial city supporting manufacturing, agriculture, textiles plus new industries including medicine and information technology.
General facts – Source: Euromonitor International
- total estimated population aged 15–64 years is 5.3 million, which is forecast to decrease 1 per cent by 2030 as more people move into the 65 plus age bracket
- ninety-four per cent have access to the internet and all households have a mobile phone
- the number of households earning US$25,000 or more is forecast to increase by 78 per cent 2030, almost outgrowing households with income between US$10,000 and $25,000; and
- two per cent of consumption expenditure is on alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Other facts:
- In the China Wine Barometer: a look into the future project commissioned by Wine Australia, the respondent sample was extended to Hangzhou from waves three to six. Some of the findings in these waves included:
- Chinese wine consumption is growing but becoming less formal with more informal consumption occasions being registered
- white wines are gaining in awareness and offer an opportunity, especially with food matching in less formal restaurants; and
- Alibaba’s Tmall and Taobao along with USA venture-capital-backed Yesmywine lead the online sector with higher awareness and conversion.
Monday 27 May – Kunming
Kunming is the capital of the Yunnan province located in China’s southwest. Kunming is an important transportation hub linking trade with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. Wine is made in the Yunnan province, but it is better known for its diverse liquor making culture, influenced by the colourful ethnic customs of the more than 20 minorities living in the city.
General facts – Source: Euromonitor International
- total estimated population aged 15–64 years is 2.9 million and this is forecast to remain steady out to 2030
- half of the population have access to the internet and all households have a mobile phone
- the number of households earning US$25,000 or greater is forecast to double in size by 2030; and
- the proportion of consumption expenditure spent on alcoholic beverages and tobacco is 2.2 per cent.
Alcohol trends – Source: Euromonitor International
- drinking baijiu, almost daily, is part of the lifestyle
- thriving tourism development underpins increasing demand for alcoholic drinks, catering to travellers from other provinces
- local herb products such as pueraria, roses, and medlar are widely used in alcoholic drink products in Kunming
- alcoholic drinks mainly focus on the economy price segment; and
- smaller pack sizes of alcoholic beverages have been increasing in popularity.
Wednesday 29 May – Shenzhen
Situated on China’s southern coast in the Guangdong Province and less than 30 kilometres from Hong Kong, Shenzhen officially became a city in 1979. A year later, it became China’s first Special Economic Zone and urbanisation quickly expanded. It has now become a global tech hub with several multinational companies headquartered in the city including Tencent and Huawei. It also has one of the busiest container ports in the world.
General facts – Source: Euromonitor International
- total estimated population aged 15–64 years was 9.2 million and it is forecast to increase 3 per cent by 2030
- one in five (20 per cent) of the population aged 15 or more have a higher education; this is the lowest among China’s six largest cities by population
- ninety-one per cent have access to the internet and all households have a mobile phone
- the number of households earning US$25,000 or more is forecast to double by 2030, growing at a faster rate than households with income between US$10,000 and $25,000; and
- the proportion of consumption expenditure on alcoholic beverages and tobacco is 1.9 per cent.
Wine consumption facts – Source: Wine Intelligence’s China Landscapes 2018
- Half of all urban upper-middle class drinkers of imported wine from Shenzhen were aged 25–34 years. A third were aged 35–44 years
- Less than half (42 per cent) of imported grape-based wine was consumed by respondents 1–3 times a month
- More than half (57 per cent) are aware of Australian wines while 36 per cent had consumed Australian wine in the last 6 months
- Urban upper-middle class drinkers of imported wine from Shenzhen were more likely to spend RMB 150 to 174 in the off-trade compared to China overall
- Fifty-nine per cent bought wine from a wine shop and 60 per cent bought wine on the internet. Purchasing on the internet was much higher in Shenzhen compared to other Tier 1 cities
- Shoppers were more likely to use Walmart, Vanguard and Sam’s Club compared to average; and
- Grape variety, words describing the flavour of the wine and the country of origin were the top most important factors influencing decisions when buying a bottle of grape-based wine.
Other facts
- Lonely Planet named Shenzhen second on their Top 10 cities to visit in 2019 list, referring it as the ‘Silicon Valley’ of China with its new design openings and tech innovations.
Summary of Euromonitor International City Data
