(3) 20 YEARS CHANGYU & LENZ M. MOSER
A COMMENT ON THE LUXURY SECTOR ( as wine is part of it )
I have been discussing a lot about european luxury brands with regards to their exports to china – will they suffer the same substitution like the german car industry in China ? Here is the deal – from my perspective – travelling 72 x to china in the last 20 years.
*** China loves the Europe ( travel to Europe by Chinese students/ tourists in Europe for years ) – also, China is in awe with European luxury brands ( queues outside every LV, Hermes, Gucci store wherever you go )
*** China loves quality – proven quality – hence a lot of luxury purchases were effectuated on European travels by Chinese people
*** so far there are no real substitutes for European luxury labels – however, when you walk the streets of Chinese major cities things have changed dramatically lately on the lower end ( still premium ) – Nike has been dimished in relevance by Chinese sneaker brands to an extent which I would have never dreamt of. And, take it up a few notches and look at Huawei smart phones – they are now dominating - some users show me a superior product over my latest iPhone ... ( functions, camera, screen sizes , etc. )
*** and when it comes to my core competency WINES? Let me answer with a little story from the Fujian province in 2018, where a gave a presentiation of our www.changyu-moser-xv.com wines to a group of ver y wealthy people – ca. 20, judging from the cars outside ... to cut it short, after the tasting finished on an older, very friendly man gets up and says something I did not forget ever since: “Today is an important day in my life. I always drank Bordeaux and Australian top wines ,yet as of today I also will enjoy proudly wines from China, because I love these great wines from Ningxia and I believe in your story ”, meaning the wines I just presented. Pfew, total silence – he had tears in his eyes and me too – what a moving moment.!
Resume: give the proud nation of China something of quality they can believe in and they will embrace it.
So, iPhone is already declining, german cars in decline, wine from China is on the march in their own country ( and, a real discovery and surprise in Europe ). Everyone exporting to China has to be on his toes and prove him-/herself over an over, offer uniqueness , otherwise there will be Chinese products substituuing imports .
Stay tuned for more on my journey of 20 years with China, next week
