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Mark O'Neill

Checks at retail giant's Shanghai stores uncover 720 bottles of the bootleg spirit

The manufacturer of China's most famous alcoholic beverage has demanded an apology from retail giant Carrefour after the discovery of 720 bottles of fake  wine on its shelves in three stores, before one of the busiest seasons, the National Day holiday.

'We are demanding an apology from Carrefour but are not asking for monetary compensation,' said an official of the Shanghai office of Guizhou Maotai, which makes the strong rice drink.

'Carrefour has given us no reply.' A delegation from Maotai, led by general manager Qiao Hong, is in Shanghai and is holding talks on the issue with Carrefour's China head office. It aims to complete them before the start of the National Day holiday on Wednesday.

It was on  September 9 that one of the 20 anti-counterfeit investigators employed nationwide by maotai went to a Carrefour store in Hangzhou  and found bottles  on sale for 224 yuan (HK$209), against a national retail price of 298 yuan and an ex-factory price of 238 yuan.

He called the local office of the Industrial & Commercial Management Bureau (ICMB), the government body which supervises the retail sector.

Officers went to the store and seized 157 bottles. Staff said the shipment came from Shanghai. The Shanghai branch of the ICMB then searched the six Carrefour stores in Shanghai and seized 480 bottles of the fakes  in two branches.

Du Guangyi, an assistant to the president of Maotai, said he had been stunned by the discovery. 'Shanghai is a big market for us, one that is comparatively well-regulated, with annual sales of 400,000 bottles, of which only 2,000 are fake.

'This individual seizure is about one-third of that amount. If Carrefour had a strict system to inspect incoming goods and anti-counterfeit regulations, how could the fakes get in?'

Fake spirits are  sold in restaurants, hotels and supermarkets. As China's top  brand, maotai is a common target for counterfeiters.



Fake maotai seized at Carrefour