Understanding Chinese Wine Market Challenges And Opportunities For A Prestigious Italian Winery

The average annual growth of the wine industry has slowed down worldwide (less than1%in2010), whereas in China the wine industry rises at a rate of about10%annually, and wine sales have been experiencing an impressive15%average annual growth during the last few years. Furthermore wine consumption20per cent in2011). Hence, given the fact that over40%of the import market is controlled by France (first mover), and in prospect of surging demand, becomes imperative for the Italian wine producers to enter the competition with more resolve, before the market gets too saturated. However few of them have capitalized on this opportunity so far.First in line among the Italian candidates is Masi Agricola is one of the most influential wineries in Veneto, North East Italy and a leading producer of Valpollicella wine and its derivatives (i.e. Amarone, one of the most renown and appreciated Italian fine wines). The thesis sets out both to assess the degree of attractiveness of the Chinese market from the perspective of this top-notch Italian winery, and to assess what are the options Masi should consider in order to:enter the market, gain share and sell successfully its products in China.The competitive situation is not encouraging:27per cent of the market share is held by four domestic companies (out of over500), and France has constantly accounted for more than a third of bottled imports to China over the last decade. Nevertheless, a sound entry plan and marketing strategy will first pave the way to develop brand awareness in a niche market, and subsequently consent the achievement of mass-market sales.