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Wine
Mart Opens in Guangzhou 2002
Wine Mart, a new wine and spirits distribution center in Guangzhou,
opened its doors on 31 May 2001 by playing host to the Guangzhou
2002 Wine and Spirits Trade Fair. The trade show, essentially a
promotional event for the center, could be an opportunity for U.S.
wine and spirits exporters trying to enter the south China market.
The trade fair was scheduled for three days and had over 50 exhibitors.
According to the organizers, the exhibition will run continuously.
Although most of the participants in the show were local Chinese
wine and spirits distributors and producers, several overseas companies
were represented. Countries with companies at the show include:
Chile, Canada, Italy, Australia, France, and Poland. Wine was the
main product promoted by the international exhibitors, but not the
only one.
A few overseas produced spirits also were exhibited. One Polish
company was promoting vodka and a Sino-Hong Kong distributor featured
several imported Scotch whisky brands. A few of the international
participants in the show felt the exhibition was not bad, but could
have been organized better. One participant believed that more product
promotional events should have been arranged. He mentioned that
a wine tasting event for the public or just potential distributors,
for example, would have been very beneficial for the exhibitors.
Another overseas participant noted that, while the quality of the
visitor traffic was not as high as he expected, some of the Chinese
exhibitors showed a great amount of interest in his products.
Wine Mart is a Sino-Hong Kong wine and spirits distribution center
sanctioned by the Guangzhou local government. Wine Mart's physical
location is Guangzhou's Liwan District on Wenchang Street. The building
that houses Wine Mart has five floors with a total area of 13,000
square meters. The first three floors of the building is reserved
for producers and distributors to exhibit and sell their products,
the remaining floors house private companies and government agencies
that assist and facilitate the importation and marketing of wine
and spirits. For example, both the local Customs Bureau and the
Guangdong Liquor Monopoly Bureau plan to maintain offices at Wine
Mart. Wine Mart representatives say that their facility has enough
space to cater to 300 tenants and claimed that many of the exhibitors
at the recent trade show are Wine Mart tenants and participants
in future promotional events. However, a Post representative who
visited the show on its last day noticed that many of the exhibitors
on the second and third floors had vacated their space or were planning
to vacate.
Wine Mart representatives are uncertain as to whether the specific
arrangements for the next exhibition will be the same as for this
last show. Wine Mart held a special grand opening dinner and hosted
a special seminar for exhibitors, but did not organize activities
aimed at the exhibitors' potential customers. The date of the next
trade show has yet to be announced.
Wine Mart with its opening becomes the second main imported wine
and spirits distribution center in Guangzhou. Another center already
exists in Guangzhou's Wuyang Xincun area and hosts nearly a dozen
local distributors who mainly deal in imported products.
The U.S. Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Guangzhou will explore
the possibly of organizing a California Wine and Cheese event with
Wine Mart, the Western Food Association, and the California Trade
Office in Hong Kong. Invitees to such an event most likely would
be a select group of local and expatriate business leaders and this
event possibly will be held in conjunction with Wine Mart's next
promotional event. Interested parties are urged to contact the U.S.
ATO in Guangzhou via email at info@atoguangzhou.org or by fax at
86-20-8666-0703.
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