China-Australia relations: Penfolds wine weathered counterfeits and trademark disputes since 1995, but now faces toughest test yet in Chinese market
- True measure of Penfolds’ resilience in the Chinese market amid anti-dumping headwinds will come when current stock levels at pre-duty prices in China deplete
- Treasury Wines has already made plans to redirect its Penfolds sales away from China, saying that as long as the new duties are imposed, demand for its products in China ‘will be extremely limited’
Chen Yafei, a manager of a specialty cheese retail store in Shanghai, has for years been drinking the popular Australian wine, Penfolds, and buying it as gifts for family and customers to pair with his dairy products, mainly because of its auspicious name.
In Chinese, Penfolds is called “Ben Fu”, which means “chasing prosperity”.
Unlike other high-end liquor such as Mao-tai – the local Chinese distilled grain liquor known as baijiu, which has an “elusive exclusivity” among connoisseurs – Penfolds, while a premium brand, has a host of replacements thanks to the influx of imported wines into China, he said.
“The rapid increase in the price of Penfolds will definitely result in some loss of market share,” he said. “It is a real pity for a brand that has done so well to be affected by political issues.”
On chat forums on social media platform WeChat, some Chinese buyers share Chen’s views, saying the overpriced wine will be replaced, while others say Chinese buyers are cashed-up, and so higher prices will not change the sentiments of drinkers.