China, Hong Kong dominate Bordeaux import

[Kcwhippet]

Guys, there are a few things about doing business in those countries that have kept a lot of the "Napa" wineries out of that market. Here in the US, distributors/wholesalers buy the products from the wineries and then sell them to retail outlets, who in turn sell them to their customers. In the China/Hong Kong market, the wineries still sell their product to wholesalers, but there the similarity ends because the retail outlets then generally take the wines on consignment. So, the wholesalers don't get paid until the wines are sold. If the wines sit on the shelves for months, the wholesalers are out their money for that entire period. Would you want to have your money tied up for an extended period with no income to show for your efforts? Another thing is the counterfeiting going on over there. The Penfold's situation comes to mind here. At a trade show in China, there was an exhibit for Benfold's wines, and all the product and literature looked strikingly similar to Penfold's except it's all labelled Bennfold's - with a B. And it goes on - and on.