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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."
Over a 150 media from Asia and Europe and VIPs were taken through a sensorial and visual experience with the unveiling of the rare cask in a cave.
It comes at a princely price of US$15,000 per bottle. Only 786 bottles are available worldwide and Chinese consumers have already pre-ordered about 100 of them.
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 convert 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.
Another consumer said: "Because China has a long history and the Chinese love things with a long history, cognac will be more acceptable for them. That is why cognac is developing very well in China."
And the figures show there is good growth potential.
According to the International Wine and Spirit Record study, imported spirits make up less than one per cent of the total spirits consumed in China in 2008. Remy Martin made its debut in China in 1883 and the country is now the No. 1 consumer of the Louis the 13 cognac.
Although profits for Remy's cognac fell 20 per cent in the year to end-March, it rose 10 per cent for the Chinese market and Remy is confident that this trend will continue for next year. - CNA/vm
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