ASC精品酒业COO王俊：我们要在市场上长远立足

在经历了拉菲罗斯柴尔德集团两个重“量”级品牌的流失和公司高层人员变动后，中国领先的葡萄酒进口商ASC精品酒业强调对中国葡萄酒市场长远发展的决心，意图重振市场信心。

ASC精品酒业和大中华区很多主要的葡萄酒进口商一样，都面临着普遍被大家认为是近年来中国酒业最困难的年份之一。

多年来的高速和双位数的增长在2018年戛然而止，并且在2019年仍然持续走低，主要受制于国内经济增速下行，中美持续贸易战和汇率的变化。

 “去年是非常艰难的一年，但我们销售额达到了10亿人民币（折合约1.42亿美元）”，ASC精品酒业首席运营官王俊（Simon Wang）在其公司的香港年度品鉴活动上接受酒斛特约作者Natalie Wang采访时谈到。据他介绍，该公司在今年上半年的销售也同比增长了约5-6%。

▲ ASC精品酒业首席运营官王俊（Simon Wang）

这意味着按进口额来算，如果除去大的物流公司和烈酒进口商，ASC是国内最大的葡萄酒进口商。

仅在今年前五个月就有2000多个瓶装葡萄酒进口商退出进口酒行业，在这样的大环境下，行业对作为国内领军的ASC的举动则是更加关注，以此来评估当下市场兴趣和未来市场发展前景。

今年早前在第一季度的时候，ASC就和拉菲罗斯柴尔德家族的两个靠量取胜的品牌传说和传奇分家了。这两个品牌虽是波尔多普通混酿红酒，但在国内市场卖得非常成功，主要原因就是和拉菲挂钩产生的携带效应。

根据市场消息透露，这两个品牌占到ASC整体葡萄酒销售的20%。当问到这两个品牌的流失对公司的影响时，王俊称这个“分手”没有影响公司的业绩。

“从我们公司第三季度的业绩可以看出，我们和财政目标一致，而且稍微有提升，”他解释道，但没有提供具体数字。

虽然传奇和传说两个品牌现在不在ASC的品牌中，公司仍然在销售罗斯柴尔德家族旗下的其他两个品牌，分别是智利的巴斯克酒庄（Los Vascos）和朗格多克的奥希耶庄园（Domaine d’Aussières），根据这位首席运营官的描述，这两个品牌都是拥有自己葡萄园和庄园的酒庄。

他同时也反驳了ASC和拉菲罗斯柴尔德家族突然分手的说法，称整个过程都是经过深思熟虑的，“并不是突然发生的事情，也不是某人拍板突然叫停的事儿。”

除了和拉菲“分手”这件引人关注的事情，ASC公司同时也开始涉足烈酒，负责在大中华地区销售宾三得利的烈酒品牌，这也是ASC和母公司三得利进一步融合接轨的一个体现。

同时，随着消费者花钱更加谨慎，他说今年消费者对波尔多期酒态度不愠不火，感觉“一般”。“这不是个能让人激动得上蹿下跳的年份，并非说这个年份不好，只是现在这个情况，大家非常谨慎，所以‘一般’在这个语境上指的是消费热情。”他解释道。

“今年期酒卖的也是个好年份，但好到要马上拿钱买吗？对很多像我们一样的葡萄酒商，也要考虑现金周转，因为期酒是买了就要付现金订货的，需要很好的管理资金周转问题，”他继续说道。

同时他也补充说，自公司的品牌市场及供应链副总裁李韧离开之后，ASC的首席执行总裁涩谷善彦（Yoshihiko Shibuya）亲自接管精品酒和波尔多期酒。

▲ ASC首席执行总裁涩谷善彦（Yoshihiko Shibuya）

在香港，今年ASC也要应对一些变化。九月份，公司负责香港和澳门业务的总经理Jonathan Mather离开了公司，同时香港几个月以来由反逃犯条例引发的游行也影响了整个城市的葡萄酒生意。

据香港媒体《南华早报》报道，香港整个餐饮行业第三季度出现了自2003年非典之后最严重的下滑。

“游行特别对当场消费影响大一些，”他说道。特别是在商业中心例如中环、湾仔、铜锣湾和尖沙咀地区，游行对餐饮行业影响特别大。这也导致今年夏天在受游行影响的几个月里，公司的香港当场消费渠道销售下降了30-40%左右，他说。

然而，他也很快补充讲到，“我们认为这也给我们带来了机遇，向大家展示我们对这个市场的信心和坚持，也是一个让消费者看到谁才是市场上真正的玩家的好机会。三得利拥有一百年历史，我们不以短期发展为目标，我们是要在市场上长远立足。”

谈到未来发展，他说ASC精品酒业要在应对市场上变得更加灵活，而且要不以短期目标为重。

“我们以长远的目光来看中国市场的发展，我们不会因眼前盈利来牺牲长远目标，”他讲到。 

以下为本次采访的英文版，以飨读者。

ASC Fine Wines: We are here to stay

by Natalie Wang

China’s leading wine importer, ASC Fine Wines, affirms pledges of long-term commitment to Chinese wine market in an effort to boost market confidence, as the company cautiously navigates in a slowing wine market after the exit of DBR Lafite’s two volume brands and key personnel changes.

ASC Fine Wines and many key importers in Greater China region are faced with what’s generally believed to be one of the most challenging years in Chinese wine industry.

Years of warp-speed, double-digit wine growth halted in 2018, and downturn continue to deepen in 2019, as a result of slowing economy, prolonged China-US trade war, and currency fluctuations.

“In a very difficult time last year, we achieved RMB 1 billion (US$142.6 million) of sales,” says ASC COO Simon Wang when interviewed at ASC’s portfolio tasting in Hong Kong. Its first half year sales also increased by 5-6% year-on-year, according to him.

This would make ASC the biggest wine importer by value in the country, if excluding logistics operators and spirits importers.

At a time when over 2,000 bottled wine importers went bust in the first five months of the year, all eyes are on the country’s leading players like ASC Fine Wines to gauge market interest and growth prospects.

Earlier in the first quarter of the year, ASC lost DBR Lafite portfolio’s two volume brands, Légende and Saga, two generic Bordeaux blends that have become extremely successful in the Chinese market because of their association with the Lafite brand.

The two brands are rumoured to account for roughly 20% of ASC’s wine sales. Asked about the impacts, Wang says that the “break-up” did not dent its wine sales.

“For financial results for our Q3, we are aligned with our budget and exceeded the same time last year marginally,” he stated without giving specific details.

Although Légende and Saga exited ASC’s portfolio, ASC is still distributing DBR Lafite’s Chilean brand Los Vascos and Domaine d’Aussières in Languedoc, two wineries described by the executive of having their own vineyards and estates.

Wang also played down the split as being sudden, saying it has been properly thought through, and “it’s not out of the blue and somebody unplugged it.”

In addition to changes to DBR Lafite brands, the company is also tapping into spirits with Greater China distribution of Beam Suntory’s spirits portfolio as a part of deeper integration with Japanese parent company Suntory.

Meanwhile with more cautious and prudent consumer spending, he says this year consumer interest towards Bordeaux En Primeur campaign is also lukewarm and “average”. “It’s not a year that everyone jumps up and down, not necessarily saying the vintage is bad, but currently with the situation people are a little bit skeptical, so the average refers to consumer sentiment,” he explains.

“It’s a good vintage but is it a right time to put money upfront? For a lot of wine companies like us [ it’s about] cash flow management cause you pay immediately and you need to manage cash flow,” he continues, adding that company CEO Yoshihiko Shibuya is directly in charge of fine wine and En Primeur campaign after departure of Richard Li.

Across the border in Hong Kong, ASC is also adjusting to new changes in the market. In September, Jonathan Mather left the company as its general manager for Hong Kong and Macau. Monthslong protests in Hong Kong caused by now-withdrawn extradition bill dampened citywide wine sales.

Hong Kong’s food and beverage businesses posted the steepest fall in the third quarter of this year since the 2003 SARS outbreak, according to a SCMP report.

The impact of Hong Kong protests is “especially severe on on-trade sector,” Wang says. The protests in commercial centers such as Central, Wanchai, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui adversely affected restaurant goers and drinkers. As a result on-trade sales shrank by 30-40% this year during the protesting months this summer, Wang reveals.

However, he’s quick to note, “We think this is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to the market, right time for the customer to see who the real players are. We Suntory with our 100 years are not looking at short term, and we are here to stay.”

Looking ahead, Wang says ASC will strive to become more agile to better respond to market changes, and is in no rush for short term profits.

“We look at China with a long-term view we don’t short-change the future for immediate profit, ” he stated.