ITALIAN WINE IN CHINA: Understand Chinese wine market and consumers - Literature review Example

? Italian wine Table of Contents Introduction 3 Brief History of wine in china 4 Connection of China and Italian Wine 6 Past developments 6 Improvements 6 Worsening Conditions 8 Collaboration 8 Policy Environment 9 Tariffs 10 Labelling 11 Distribution Channels 12 Entry Barriers 13 Chinese Market for Italian wine 14 Market Demographics 14 Market size 15 Market share 16 Demand Variability 17 Domestic versus Imported Wines 17 Major foreign competitors 17 Italian wine trends in the Chinese market 18 Perception of Italian products and wine by Chinese consumers 19 Increasing brand awareness of Italian wine in Chinese urban areas 20 Reference 21 Introduction The world of the 21st century promotes a globally interconnected platform of fast change and rapid development. The evolution of the telecommunication technology since the beginning of the previous decade has played a massive role in introducing a wave of technological advancement and sophistication in the lives of the masses all around the world. It is important to mention that the high penetration of the internet in the last couple of years, along with the factor of steady acceptance of various kinds of sophisticated high end gadgets like the Smartphones, tablets, laptops etc has resulted in bringing a major transformation of technological nature in markets around the world. Because of this technological transformation, the world has been slowly and steadily converted in to a single well connected entity which promotes seamless and barrier free communication and interconnectivity to various places and markets around the world. It needs to be stated that the barrier free global communication has greatly helped in the evolution of various kinds of globalization trends that gets generated from various markets around the world, which are located in both the developing as well as the developed economies. In most cases, it was felt that the rise of globalization trends help in increasing consumer’s awareness for products and services that are available in the various foreign markets. Also, it has been noticed that the globalization trends play a tremendous influence in the process of setting a new trend in regards to consumer behaviour in a completely new market that might be located in either the developing or the developed countries. These new trend in a particular market often triggers a significant amount of consumer demand for various new and innovative kinds of products and services, thereby creating the opportunity for various organization located in different markets around the world to engage in cross border business activities. Talking from the point of view of the organizations that are focusing on entering new markets, the global macroeconomic environment has to be taken into consideration. As of the recent times, a majority of the Western nations is in the grip of the Euro zone oriented debt and financial crisis. The rise of the spending cuts by organizations located in the western nations along with the increase in frequency of austerity drive and pension cuts by the governments has significantly dampened the demand for various consumer oriented products in the developed and advanced markets of the West (bbc.co.uk, 2012). This is resulting in stagnancy of sales for various consumer product based organization, and thereby limiting its profit generation abilities. In order to tap opportunities of growth, the organizations all over the world are turning their focus on countries of the Asia Pacific region especially to that of India and China. These nations of the APAC regions have a growing consumer demand which is mainly because of the outcome of national economic growth along with better education, rising job opportunities and purchasing power of the consumers (Atsmon and Magni, 2012). This particular project is intended to discuss and understand about the demand of Italian wine among the consumers present in the urban markets of China, especially in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai. Brief History of wine in china In discussing about the origin of wine in China, the researcher needs to open the pages of history books that providing a very in-depth overview of Chinese literature and culture that was existent in the early times. The fermenting, manufacturing and drinking of wine in the country of China goes back to the prehistoric times. According to various literatures associated with the ancient times of China, wine manufacturing started around 5000 years ago in china. Talking more about the details of wine manufacturing in the olden days of China, various historical stories and folk tales has to be highlighted. Various folk legends dating back to the olden days of China reveal that a Chinese man in the name of Tu Kang first made wine. The folk tales of the olden days reveal him as the god of high quality wine. Historical documents reveal that the Shang dynasty of the 16th to 11th century used various techniques of manufacturing wine from grains. Recent archaeological findings related to Shang era winery site further provides support to the history of wine generation that has been documented in ancient Chinese literature During the ancient and olden days, wine was used in the case of auspicious occasion where it was offered to the forefathers. Also, the trend of consumption of wine in old Chinese culture has been noticed when the ancient Chinese used to enjoy themselves on occasion of writing literature in the form of prose, poetry or as a toast to friends and relatives in the occasion of a feast. It is very important to highlight that in the ancient days, the wine used to hold a very important place in the life and culture of the Chinese masses. Many famous ancient scholarly men of the country of China share a strong relation with wine. For further highlighting the importance of wine in the culture and tradition of ancient China, it is utterly relevant to mention that the wine was a mandatory offering in the occasion of big parties and banquet hosted by the kings and emperors of ancient times (Eijkhoff, 2000, p. 1). Connection of China and Italian Wine Past developments The Chinese wine market has grown over the years, thanks to the increased level of awareness among the young and urban consumers. The growth of wine market in china over the years has started developing business prospects for Italian wine. Alberto Mangilli, the CEO of the Zefiro Group revealed in an interview that in the past 20 years, the Chinese wine market was greatly patronized by the elite segments of the Chinese society. However, in the recent past, the Chinese wine market is making place various high class wine brands that are being imported from the markets of France and Italy. The new emerging market segments, which are price conscious in nature are slowly turning to the choices and tastes offered by various Italian and other European brands. During the interview, the CEO of the Zefiro Group also brought reference to the data published by the Italian Institute for Statistics. The data revealed that between the time period of 2010 and 2011, the export of Italian wines to the Chinese market increase by around 80% (Zef Iro, 2013). Improvements While discussing about improvements that has happened for the Italian wines in the Chinese markets, a wide range of issues needs to be covered and highlighted. The China Daily has highlighted that the European slowdown in the year 2012 resulted in increasing the competition from Italian wines in the Chinese markets. The rise in competition from the Italian and other foreign wine markets are helping in inducing improvements for the domestic wine producers of China. The China daily has highlighted a very important demographic improvement in connection to Italian wines for the Chinese market. The Italian wine manufacturers are changing their focus from the age group of 40 to 60 years to well paid, Chinese graduates in the age bracket of 20 – 35 years. This change of demographic focus helped in increasing exports of Italian wines to China by around 64% (China Daily Agencies, 2012). Armanda Maria Corsi, in her research study, has mentioned that the Italian wine is getting awareness in the Chinese market in the current times. The awareness is happening on a positive note on the fact that Italy is a producer and supplier of high quality wines. Along with the quality factor, the Chinese consumers are also attaching the competitive price factor to the advantage of Italian wine manufacturers (Corsi and et.al, 2010, p. 5). The favourable perception of the Italian wine in regards to quality and competitive price is helping in creating a greater demand as compared to the French wine products. Among the positive improvements happening in connection to Italian wine in China, the factor of rising demand and growing export has to be considered. Data provided by the organizers of Vinitaly china Fair, revealed that the urban locations of China like Beijing, Shanghai, Macao, the Italian wine exports has grown by around 24% in volume and around 13% in value. The Istat figures highlighted that there was a tremendous rise of Italian wine sale to the volume of around 51,000 hectoliters as compared to the past volume of around 41,000 hectoliters in the year 2007. The reason for high growth in demand can be associated with the eradication of excise duty in the urban markets of Macao and Hong Kong. The removal of excise duty is largely interlinked with the lowering of Italian wines in these markets, thereby helping further raising the demand for the Italian wines (Santa Margharerita, 2013). Another improvement that needs to be highlighted is in regards to the trend that has emerged in connection to the consumption of Italian wines in the Chinese market. Felicity Carter, in her interview with Stevie Kim, who is a coordinator of wine trade fair, Vinitaly, has identified that the new and emerging wine trend is that big corporations, especially the various government agencies and officials focus on using international wine as a gifting mechanism (Carter, 2012). This gifting mechanism of the corporate and large governmental organizations has resulted in the creating a tremendous demand for various Italian wine producers. Worsening Conditions While investigating the China connection for Italian wines, focus has to be given on the worsening conditions that might exist in the current times. Terril Yue Jones in his report for the Reuters has revealed that the fake European wines that are making its presence felt in the markets of China is significantly damaging the prospects and reputation of the international wines. Needless to mention, that the Italian wines which fall in the category of international wines in the Chinese markets, are getting impacted in a negative manner (Jones, 2013). There is another condition that has developed in the recent months that are bound to impact the Italian wine market existing in China in a negative manner. Report from New Europe reveals that a trade dispute has originated in between China and the European Union, in regards to dumping of wine in the markets of China. the Chinese government brought out allegation in regards to the international wine coming from European markets that the wine are exported at a cost lower than the cost of production in the domestic markets of Europe (NEOnline, 2013). Collaboration The points of collaboration that exists for the Italian wine market in china are also being discussed. The Global Post has revealed that the Vinitaly Fair of China plays a very vital role in forming and developing important collaboration between Italian wine producers and Chinese wine distributors. It is very important to note that the Vinitaly fair acts as an important bridge for the Italian manufacturers to establish their connect in the markets of Asia (Agence France Presse, 2013). The Vinitaly fair has also developed collaboration with Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair, which will further help in raising the demand for wine in the Chinese markets. Policy Environment The scope of growth of a business or an industry in a particular region is largely dependent on the business policies that exist in that particular region or market. While discussing about business policies for a specific industry, it needs to be highlighted that the development of a policy framework is largely influenced by the macroeconomic variables as well as the political influence that is existing in that particular market. Also, the supply and demand for the commodities of the specific industry and industry dynamics are always considered while framing a proper policy. As of recent times, china’s wine industry is facing a low concentration for all of the three types of wine companies comprising of large grape wine breweries, small scale win firms and independent small vintage wine enterprises. The development trend for this industry reveals that the industry will be dominated by the large grape wine breweries. In talking about the demand factor that might arise for this particular industry, the factors comprising of rising disposable income of the masses of China, emergence of new consumer groups along with the urbanization of the population will continue to create upward growth in terms of per capita consumption of wine in the Chinese region (PRWeb.com, 2012). It is important to mention that for the development of policy in regards to the wine industry of China in an incremental fashion, specific targets for the wine industry is being included in the national 12th Five Year Plan. The first and most important objective for the wine industry of China covered in the five year plan of China for the period of 2011 – 2015 is to target output of wine of around 2.2 liters by the year 2015. This specific target will result in doubling of the output recorded in the previous five year plan of China which ended in the year 2010. This specific new objective will require the wine industry of China to achieve a growth of around 15 percent on an annual basis. The second objective of the five year plan of 2015 is to attain sales revenue of around 60 billion RMB, which means the wine industry, needs to attain a growth of around 13% on annual basis. The third and final objective for the wine industry is to attain an 88% percent increase in tax and profits by the next five year and thereby reaching the target of around 12 billion RMB in regards to taxes and profits (Lu, 2012). While discussing about the policy environment of the wine industry in China, the factors like regulation of tariffs, channels of distribution, labelling and entry barriers also needs to be highlighted. Tariffs In discussing about tariffs that exist in the Chinese wine industry, it needs to be stated that major changes in tariffs has been implemented for the wine sector. The statistics of consumption of wine in China as of the year 2010 has revealed that per capita consumption of wine is less than 1 liter. In order to boost wine consumption among the growing middle class of the nation, the government of China has taken significant positive steps towards the reduction of tariffs that is applicable in that industry. Glyn Wittwer has revealed in his general working paper in the year 2007 that with the joining of the WTO, the Chinese government took a major positive step towards reducing the tariff barriers that is applicable in the case of international wines (Wittwer, 2007, p. 3). The major reduction of tariffs has greatly helped in lowering the prices of international wines on a comparative basis. As of the recent times, the tariff for wine containers of two liters or below has dropped from above 44% to around 14%. Also, the tariff on bulk import of wine has been reduced to as low as 20%. Despite the lowering of tariffs, it needs to be highlighted that the prices of international wines still remains a bit high in the market of China due to the inclusion of value added tax of around 17% and consumption tax of around 10%. But the overall price of the international wines in the Chinese markets remain highly competitive as compared to that of the prices that are existing for the international wines in other markets of the Asian region (Bobik, 2012, 3.5.1) Labelling Talking in regards to rules of product labelling that is applicable for the wine industry, it needs to be stated that the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantines (AQSIQ) imposes a series of conditions when it comes to labelling of wines imported from the foreign markets. As per the AQSIQ norms, the wine bottle containing foreign wines needs to have mandatory information in the Chinese language. The information that needs to be made available in the labelling of foreign wine bottle comprises of product and brand name, ingredients, net content (in ml), alcohol content (in ml), date of production, details of the producer, details of the importer, country of origin. Also, information about the storage method, period of storage and the sugar content (in gram/l) has to be made available on the label of wine bottles that are imported from the foreign market. It is highly interesting to mention that in order to provide all the necessary information that has to be compulsory displayed on the imported wine bottles, a large majority of the exporters use small stickers on the back label of the bottles. The labels that are used are subjected to examination, verifications and registration from the Chinese authorities. Also, the wine of the foreign market is subjected to various tests, chemical analysis as well as approval by the authorities of the AQSIQ (Bobik, 2012, 3.5.2). Distribution Channels In discussing about the distribution network that is often used for the delivery of the internationally imported wines to the retailer and the end consumers, it has to be stated that the entire distribution channel has undergone significant amount of changes in the recent times. In the recent past, the entire process of distribution of wines were largely controlled and monitored by the National Sugar And Wines Corporation. However, as of now, significant amount of changes were implemented and the foreign and joint venture players who are making their present felt in the Chinese territories are being allowed to run their own set of distribution channels. The new kind of delivery and distribution system for wines allows the sellers to disperse their products to the various channel intermediaries while using one of the four methods of distribution. The four ways comprises of approaching the retailer directly or opting for selling through an agent, distributor or through a wholesale mart. The regulation in the various distribution channels for wine delivery is controlled in a very strict manner by the various provincial governments. For the forming of a distribution channel in the form of retail or wholesale outlets, operating licenses are required. The licenses for opening up of these distribution channels of either retail or wholesale formats are issued by the Municipal Liquor Monopoly Bureau. Talking in more details about the distribution channels, it can be said that the wine imported from the various foreign markets is distributed either through joint ventures or wholly foreign funded sales companies as well as domestic small distributors and traders. To smoothen the process of distribution of imported wine in the local markets of china, the importers located in the Chinese market handle most of the process related to documentation and licensing (Bobik, 2012, 3.6.1). Entry Barriers While discussing about the policy factors that exists in the wine market of China, the factors of entry barriers that exists in the particular market also needs to be taken into consideration. The potential barrier of entry that exists for foreign wine manufacturers for entering the markets of China arises from the retail chains and the Chinese government. In elaborating in greater details, it can be said that the purchasing power of the super market chains is tremendously high because of their wide distribution network. This often forces large wine producers to sell their mass market wine products to the super market chains at heavily discounted prices. In most cases, the wine producers opt for this strategy so as to prevent loss of market share for the company specific products that might arise in the scenario of disruption of product distribution. This highly complex strategy of selling to the super market chains at low prices in order to avoid loss of market share raises the barriers to entry. This particular barrier is further complicated because of the fact of requirements of high capital investments on large production plants as well as establishing of supplies from multiple vine yards. The strategy formed as an outcome of high purchasing power of the super market chains restricts the large scale foreign premium wine manufacturers from entering the Chinese market. Now considering the barrier arising from the government sector of china, it is important to discuss the level of integration and influence the government shares with regards to this specific industry. The distribution channels of the Chinese wine market along with issues of labelling foreign wine products is controlled by the national government in a very stringent manner. Also, a majority of the local wineries present in the market of China share a strong relation with the ruling Communist party of the nation. Talking on these lines, it is important to mention that one of the fastest growing wineries of China in the recent times, Vini Suntime was established by the People’s Liberation Army. Also, the Great Wall Group is a fully state owned enterprises which is controlled by one of the largest import and export companies of the government of China. Hence, the high level political influence as well as patronization of the local governments for the domestic wineries has played a major role in enhancing and maintaining the barriers to entry for the premium large scale wine manufacturers of the foreign markets. Also, the absence of proper distribution infrastructure further develops an extra barrier to entry for foreign wine manufacturers. Talking in a detailed manner in regards to this particular barrier factor, it has to be said that the retailers or the restaurant owners has to pay a listing charge for stocking their shelves or wine list with foreign wines. The listing charges ranging from 10,000 RMB to 500,000 RMB are mostly paid in an illegal manner. In some exclusive arrangement cases, the charges are as high as 700,000 RMB. The unawareness of the Chinese consumers in regards to various wine brands of international category makes the entire distribution infrastructure all the more vulnerable as the wine consumption by the consumers is greatly influenced by the seller. The absence of proper storage and transportation facilities like temperature controlled warehouses and trucks further establishes the supremacy of this particular barrier (Bobik, 2012, 4.1.2) Chinese Market for Italian wine Market Demographics The Chinese market is slowly opening up in regards to wines of both domestic and international category. The factors of macroeconomic nature like the rise of young, urban population along with expanding middle class with rising incomes are acting as the basic demand creators for the market of wine of both domestic and international category in the market of China. It is especially important to state that the trend of the young urban population, especially professionals and business people living in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou to replicate the foreign lifestyle and tastes are further triggering the demand for foreign wine imports in the Chinese markets. As per the demographic details of the consumers, majority of the consumers fall in the age group of 18 - 45 years. The premises of wine consumption, especially the ones that are imported from the foreign markets, by the highly varying age group of consumers comprises mostly of “on premise” locations like the top class hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Generally, the four star and five star hotels, restaurants of western theme as well as the upscale domestic chain of Chinese restaurants that targets the middle and upper class consumers provides the best platform for consumption of international wines that are imported from the foreign markets. The general trend of wine consumption of foreign category in the Chinese markets is on social occasions (Burkitt and Chow, 2013). Also, the trend of using imported wines as a gift on occasions of celebrations further triggers the demand for international wines in the urban markets of China in the recent times (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, n.d., p. 2). Market size Talking in regards to wine consumption by the consumers of China, the per capita consumption stood at around 0.38 litre a year. This highlights that the emerging nation of China is actually trailing behind in regards to wine consumption on per capita basis as compared to the developed nations like France, UK and the US. In more specific terms, the per capita wine consumption figure is .7 liters in the urban regions of China as compared to the global threshold of 7 liters on a per capita basis in the urban areas of the developed nations (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, n.d., p. 2). This automatically highlights that the wine consumption trends has room for significant growth in the markets of china. As of the recent times, the revenue generated from the wine market of China is around 9 billion USD. From the year 2008 – 2013, the data from research articles revealed that the annual growth rate for the wine industry in the Chinese market is around 18.3% (IBISWorld, 2013). The wine market of China in the year 2012 was valued at around 10 billion USD along with a markets size volume of around 2 billion litres. The market is supposed to attend a compound annual growth rate of around 10 % and attain a valuation of around 19 billion USD and over three billion litres in volume by the year 2016 (nzte.govt.nz, n.d.). Analysing the trade statistics associated with the import of foreign wine in the markets of China, the growing demand of international high quality wines because of the growing income level of the consumers and the acceptance for western lifestyle trends has pushed the import of wine from around 114,600 kiloliters in 2006 to 283,400 kiloliters in the year 2010 (Xiaoguo, 2012). Market share The wine market of China is highly fragmented in nature. Because of the potential of providing fast growth in the upcoming future, the wine market of China is attracting a number of domestic entrepreneurs, foreign players as well as importers. While discussing the market share of the wine industry, both the domestic and international presence in the markets can be factored separately. In terms of market share in the domestic category, the key players are Yantai Changyu (21%), COFCO Ltd (17%), Dynasty Fine Wines (10%), Yantai Weilong Grape Wine Co Ltd (7%). Multiple other domestic players comrprise the remaining 45% (nzte.govt.nz, n.d.). In judging the market share for international and imported wines, it has been found that France is the market leader. Australia, Chile, Spain and Italy comprise the remaining positions in the market share. Exports from the Italian market which grossed to around 73.7 million USD in the first 9 months of 2012 made it position itself in the fifth position in the Chinese market (Gusata Ditalia, 2013). Demand Variability While trying to identify the probable growth prospects and demand for the wine market of China in the upcoming future, the growth statistics of the rising middle class population who are the current drivers of the wine markets has to be considered. Data from a confidential research reveals that the upper middle class in China is expected to grow to around 59% of the total population of the nation by the year 2025. Dan Traucki, who is the Chairman of Exporters Association of South Australia has quoted in his China White Paper that the current 300 million middle class Chinese consumers will grow to represent a considerable portion of the total population of China in the upcoming years (Traucki, 2013, p. 2). The growth of the middle class and upper middle class consumers will significantly play a major role in expanding the market scope for international wines in the upcoming future. Domestic versus Imported Wines It needs to be highlighted that the Chinese wine market is comprised of a large number of players of both domestic as well as international origin. Major foreign competitors Talking in regards to competition that is coming in the foreign wine sector of the Chinese market, the various countries which are providing wine exports to the Chinese market has to be considered. As of now, 74% of foreign wine imports for China happen from supplies coming from countries like France, Australia and Chile. France is the market leader in the international arena because of the privilege it enjoys with being the main trading partner for this specific commodity. Also, countries like New Zealand, Spain and South Africa are emerging in a rapid manner so as to provide competition in the wine market of China. These three countries collectively represent around 9% of the wine imports for China (nzte.govt.nz., n.d.). Italian wine trends in the Chinese market The wine market of China is in its early days, since the vast population of China is yet to develop a high level of fascination for wine drinking. The per capita wine consumption of china is still very low as compared to the developed nations of the West. In discussing about Italian wine trends in the Chinese market, the rate of exports to the market has to be taken into consideration. As of the year 2012, the Italian wine export to the emerging markets of China and Brazil increased by around 6.5%. Also, it has been predicted by the Italian Federation of Wine, that both the market will be attaining tremendous growth in the upcoming days in regards to generating demand for Italian wine. Taking into account the statistics provided by the director of the wine and spirit department of the China Chamber of Commerce, Wang Xuwei, the Italian wines represent around 5 percent of the total wines present in present in the markets of China. It is very interesting to note that the markets of China has been developed in regards to wine consumption, by the wine manufacturing companies which holds the most dominating position in the Chinese markets. Due to the already existing trends of wine consumption in the Chinese markets, the demand for Italian wine is spiking in the Chinese markets mainly because of issues related to French wine scandals, diversification of the Chinese wine market as well as fall in Bordeaux prices (Ti, 2013). Now discussing about the segmentation of the target audience for the Italian wines, three distinct consumer groups needs to be highlighted. The first one is the wellness oriented drinker who intends on wine consumption because of potential health benefits. The second one is the status symbol drinker who is mostly a wealthy consumer and likes to believe that wine consumption is an extension of his social status and exclusive class. The third one is the young shoppers who are mostly masses looking forward to experience a diversified culture experience and wine tasting experience (Valeriosoldani, 2013). Perception of Italian products and wine by Chinese consumers It is interesting to reveal that most of consumer based brands of Italian origin are perceived very highly in the Italian markets. Talking in a specific manner, it can be said that the brands manufactured and marketed by Italian firms represents a high degree of flexibility and adaptability, which becomes a crucial point of contact among the Chinese consumer’s minds (Bertoli and Resciniti, 2012, p. 105). Now discussing about the perception of Italian wine that is possessed by the Chinese consumers, it can be said that the government of Italy is taking a series of steps to improve the level of awareness and perception that the Chinese consumers have for Italian wine. A year long Italian Wines in China project have been executed Italy General Department of International Affairs in the year 2012 so to raise the levels of perception for Italian wines among the Chinese masses (Gusti Ditalia, 2013). While taking the expert views about the perception of Italian wine possessed by the Chinese consumers, it can be stated that the tag of ‘Made in Italy’ ignites the factors of emotion, experience and expression. The experts also feel that the Chinese consumers who have a high fascination towards Italian fashion, lifestyle products and food are more likely to possess a very positive attitude towards the wines exported by Italy to the farfetched markets of China (Swide, n.d.). Increasing brand awareness of Italian wine in Chinese urban areas When discussing about Italian wines which are imported in the markets of China, it has to be considered that the product increasingly falls in the category of luxury items. Xiao Xiangyi has mentioned in his article for the China Daily that the French wine is a dominating player in the market of China (Xiangi, 2013). Hence, in order to create the demand for Italian wines, it is important to create awareness of various Italian wine brands in the market of China. While increasing the brand awareness of Italian products in the Chinese markets, it is important to consider the consumer behaviour and the target audience. The target audience is mostly the urban population of the major cities of China like Shanghai, Beijing, Gunagzhou who have growing income levels and high purchasing power. In discussing the consumer behaviour, the purchase and consumption of international wines is mostly done by the Chinese on social occasions. For increasing the awareness of various Italian wine brands, in the Chinese markets, the companies of China, that are importing Italian wines should focus on the proper marketing of their products. As a method of wine marketing, the various Italian brands should focus on providing wine tasting sessions in various urban cities of China. This will help in increasing the familiarity of the masses with various Italian wine brands. Also, to enhance the brand equity, the Italian wine manufacturers should focus on communication of brand value of their products by roping a highly popular celebrity as a brand ambassador for their wine products. Reference 1. Swide, n.d. WINE: THE NEW INTERNATIONAL MARKETS. 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