Abstract Purpose ± This research aims to analyze Chinese consumers’ wine ingestion and buying behavior. Design/methodology/approach ± The survey. conducted during the Chinese New Year in early 2006. used in-depth interviews with 15 consumers in Guangzhou. People’s Republic of China. Findingss ± The consequences suggest that Chinese devour Chinese liquors for all occasions. yet consume ruddy vino merely for particular occasions such as Chinese new twelvemonth and other vacations. A cardinal point for selling ruddy vino to the Chinese is its positive image ; imbibing ruddy vino is considered voguish and shows good gustatory sensation.

Another cardinal point is consumer perceptual experiences of ruddy vino as healthier than Chinese liquors because vino contains less alcohol. Two other findings are that most Chinese consumers assume all vino is ruddy vino and have small wine cognition. Most respondents did non cognize of white vino or that Australia produces vino. Finally. China’s civilization of face value. mianzi. plays a cardinal function in buying and devouring vino. Chinese tend to buy cheap vino for private ingestion and public occasions. giving more mianzi in forepart of others.

In some of import occasions. consumers will buy a foreign ( Gallic ) ruddy vino to affect their invitees and obtain even more mianzi. In most state of affairss. Chinese purchase and devour vino for sensed wellness and symbolic ± lucky or good face ± values. Research limitations/implications ± The little sample size is a restriction. Another restriction is that all the respondents lived in the urban country of Guangzhou. one of China’s most developed metropoliss. The findings do non generalise to China.

Practical deductions ± The findings suggest that vino is a symbolic merchandise instead than a necessity merchandise in China ; hence. image is an of import property for selling vino in China. Furthermore. limited vino cognition tends to do Chinese consumers rely to a great extent on monetary value for their vino buying determinations. as monetary value relates to mainzi. Chinese consumers’ high consciousness of France as a vino doing state and their deep-seated positive beliefs about Gallic vinos pose troubles for marketing other foreign vinos. such as Australian vinos. in China.

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Originality/value ± This is possibly the first academic survey in English of Chinese vino ingestion and vino buying. It offers of import penetrations on the features of vino ingestion and buying in China. Keywords Consumers. Consumption. China. Wines. Red wines Paper type Research paper 98 Fang Liu and Jamie Murphy International Journal of Wine Business Research Vol. 19 No. 2. 2007 pp. 98-113 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1751-1062 DOI 10. 1108/17511060710758669.

Introduction Chinese vino production has grown dramatically since the 1980s. with an mean one-year addition of 14 per cent from 80. 000 dozenss in 1980 to 440. 000 dozenss in 2005 ( ASKCI. 2005 ; Snapshot. 2005 ; see Figure 1 ) . Wine ingestion has risen alongside the vino production. From 2004 to 2005. Chinese wine ingestion reached 420. 000 dozenss ± 564 million bottles. which brought China into the top 10 wine ingestion states ( Foodmate. 2007 ) . From 2005 to 2010. Foodmate ( 2007 ) estimates that Chinese wine Chinese vino ingestion 99 Wine production in China ( 1980-2005 ) Figure 1.

ingestion should increase by 35 per cent. or six times the world’s overall addition in wine ingestion. China’s per capita vino ingestion of under 0. 5 liters is markedly less than the universe norm of 7. 5 liters. and 40 times less than the 20 liters drunk in western states such as France. Australia. and the USA ( Jin. 2004 ) . For the past 10 old ages. Chinese wine ingestion increased from 10-15 per cent yearly. grew 20 per cent in 2005. and this strong growing should go on for the foreseeable hereafter ( Jin and Zhan. 2006 ) .

China’s current low per capita vino ingestion. augmented by the world’s largest population ( 1. 25 billion ) and decennaries of 7-8 per cent one-year GDP growing ( NBS China. 2004 ) has foreign wine makers keen for a portion of this market. In add-on. a decreased vino import responsibility and the Chinese government’s discriminatory policy for foreign vinos further entice foreign wine makers into China ( SinoCast China Business Daily News. 2002 ) . Foreign vinos. peculiarly from France. the USA. and Australia. are pouring into China ( He. 2004 ) . From January to February 2006. China imported around 18 million liters of vino valued at E14 million. and its one-year vino imports increased 79 per cent in 2005 ( Worldbydata. 2006 ) .

China’s vino market is besides going competitory. with many local and foreign trade names available ( Tang. 2005 ) . Despite its immense market potency. academic cognition about Chinese consumers’ wine ingestion and purchases is scarce. This paper reviews literature on Chinese vino ingestion and so discusses the consequences of qualitative interviews conducted in early 2006 in Guangzhou. China. The paper closes with managerial suggestions for exporting vino into China and proposed avenues for future research. China’s wine history China has a rich vino history.

Towards the beginning of the Han Dynasty. around 206 BC. Chinese started to turn grapes and produce vinos in the Yellow River part of northeasterly China ( Winechina. 2005 ) . Grape wine production. nevertheless. lagged other alcoholic drinks such as Chinese liquors due to endure and dirty conditions. During IJWBR 19. 2 100 the Tang Dynasty. about 500 AD. there was still small Chinese vino production and China began importing vinos. chiefly from the Middle East. Due to its scarceness. lone emperors. senior authorities functionaries. and rich merchandisers drank wine ± normally for of import occasions such as the emperor’s birthday ( Winechina. 2005 ) .

Chinese liquors are alcoholic drinks distilled from grains and have been the traditional drink for about all occasions in China. Furthermore. due to historical and cultural grounds. vino has ne’er gained the same popularity as rice liquors or beer ( Li. 2006 ) ; tradition still influences who drinks vino and on what juncture. Wine is both a luxury and image merchandise in China. Chinese who drink vinos are normally educated. wealthy. and in-between or upper category ( Wang. 2006 ) . Demographics aside. many Chinese consume wine for of import societal or concern occasions ( Tang. 2006b ) .

Wine has a favorable image in China. but most Chinese have small wine cognition or grasp. such as judging wine quality or gustatory sensation ( Jin. 2004 ) . Macro-factors besides hinder China’s vino market. For illustration. few guidelines for wine advertisement have led to many wine advertizements supplying exaggerated or false information ( Peoplenet. 2006 ) . Yet. despite China’s rich vino history and turning wine ingestion. few surveies have examined Chinese vino ingestion and vino buying. The following subdivision describes a qualitative survey to assist bridge this research spread of Chinese consumers’ attitudes towards vino.

Research methodological analysis Due to the complex subject and limited literature of Chinese consumers’ wine buying behavior. this survey adopted a qualitative method ( Morse. 1994 ) . Scholars frequently use qualitative methods in organisational and consumer research in order to assist understand “complex issues that may non be instantly inexplicit in surface responses” ( Goulding. 2005. p. 301 ) . Furthermore. the qualitative attack is peculiarly disposed for experiences such as ingestion ( Goulding. 2005. p. 303 ) . This survey investigated Chinese consumers’ ideas associated with vino. vino imbibing. and wine buying.

The major research inquiries were: ( 1 ) when and where Chinese consume vino ; ( 2 ) how often they drink vino ; ( 3 ) how much they drink per juncture ; and ( 4 ) what factors influence their vino buying. For a qualitative attack. this survey used in-depth interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire of open-ended inquiries. Data aggregation All interviewees were friends of the research worker and therefore inclined to discourse honestly and openly their attitudes towards vino. Interviewing friends is common in qualitative surveies as friends will accept the interview every bit good as portion intimate ideas ( Frankel and Devers. 2000 ; Pottie and Sumarah. 2004 ) .

The standards for choosing interviewees were handiness. that they had consumed vino. and represented a balanced crosssection of age. gender. and income. Table I profiles the nine male and six female interviewees. Four interviewees were in their 20s. four in their 30s. five in their 40s. and two in their 50s. Specifying Chinese income degrees is hard ; different countries have different income degrees and income disparity is a serious job ( Zhou. 2006 ) . China’s mean ID A B C D Gender Male Male Male Male Age 33 24 42 23.

Highest instruction University University Senior high New Zealand university Collegea Senior high University fresher University Senior high College Junior high Senior high Income Median Low High Median Occupation Marketing executive Engineer helper Restaurant proprietor Bank client service officer Washing concern proprietor Small concern proprietor University pupil Retired senior executive Working in a beauty store Airline middle direction Housewife Retired authorities functionary Lecturer Entrepreneur Account director Marital position Married with one kid Single Married with two kids Single.

Overseas travel None None HK and Singapore Studied in New Zealand ; visited Australia. None HK None Holland. South Korea and a few others None Holland. Japan. Malaysia and HK None HK. Singapore. Thailand. Australia and a few others HK and Australia None HK Chinese wine ingestion 101 E F G H I J K L Male Male Male Male Female Female Female Female 43 44 19 60 40 25 40 58 High High Low Median Median Low Low Median Married with one kid Married with one kid Single Married with one kid Married with one kid Single Married with one boy Married with two grownup kids Married with one kid Married with two kids Single.

M N O Female Male Male 30 35 34 University High school University Median High Median Notes: aCollege grade. district attorney zhuan. is a three-year grade. A university grade. district attorney xue. is four old ages. In China. the unmarried man grade is four old ages and a three-year grade is non a unmarried man. A four-year grade is much more valued than a three-year grade Interviewee profiles Table I. personal income per month is around E40. but & gt ; E120 in Guangdong. Shanghai. and a few other developed countries. Even within the same country such as Guangdong. people in urban countries could gain about four times every bit much ( E480 ) as people populating in the rural countries.

Therefore. distinguishing low and in-between income depends on developed or less developed countries every bit good as rural or urban countries ( Sina. 2006 ) . As the interviews took topographic point in an urban country of Guangzhou. the capital of Guangdong and one of China’s most comfortable metropoliss ( NBS China. 2004 ) . this survey IJWBR 19. 2 102 classified four topics gaining E530 as high income. Sing instruction. nine topics had or were analyzing towards a university grade and six had a high school sheepskin. The profiles show that the sample has good coverage in gender. age. income. and instruction degree.

The research worker ± a Chinese from Guangzhou. conducted and taped one hr indepth interviews in China’s functionary linguistic communication. Mandarin. The interviews occurred from 29 January to 12 February 2006. during the Chinese New Year. an official vacation of approximately two hebdomads. Choosing this gay period for questioning had three advantages. Interviewees are by and large in a good temper and less concerned with the clip spent on an interview. Finally. during Chinese New Year. Chinese have feasts with friends. co-workers. and household one time or twice a twenty-four hours and normally drink alcoholic drinks when feeding.

Interviewees were comfy and less inhibited replying inquiries related to wine and other alcoholic drinks. Data analyses Transcribing and analyzing the taped interviews reinforced and clarified the interview notes. Furthermore. after reexamining the initial narrations. the research worker returned to some interviewees for a follow-up interview and elucidations ( Colaizzi. 1978 ) . General findings follow. Wine means ruddy vino When the research worker asked have you tried vino. plutonium Taoist jiu. ten interviewees immediately asked do you intend ruddy vino. or ni shi shuo hong plutonium Taoist jiu mom?

After the research worker explained that vino could be ruddy or white. they said they knew and had drunk merely ruddy vino. They ne’er tried nor knew about white vino. In their heads. there were four types of alcoholic drinks: hong jiu or ruddy vino. pi jiu or beer. bai jiu or Chinese liquors. and yang jiu or foreign liquors. Similarly. Fu ( 2004 ) noted that most Chinese think ruddy vino represents the full vino class. Of the five interviewees who knew both ruddy vino and white vino. D and H largely drank ruddy vino. as it was more available in the market.

A and C largely drank ruddy vinos. albeit for a different ground ; red is a lucky coloring material in the Chinese civilization. The other topic. J. besides drank more ruddy vino due to handiness. but she preferred white vinos as they were sweeter. She added that companies should advance white vino much more sharply in China. These consequences suggest that Chinese have hapless general cognition about vino ; twothirds of the interviewees were incognizant of white vino. White vino may be less popular because it does non suit Chinese civilization. Red is a lucky coloring material. associated with good things such as nuptialss and birthdays.

White is an luckless coloring material. frequently associated with funerals. Besides the lucky association. Fu ( 2004 ) argued that ruddy vino sold better in China as it has a stronger gustatory sensation than white vino ; the Chinese prefer strong gustatory sensation. Given the low consciousness of white vino. the undermentioned subdivision discusses Chinese consumers’ attitudes towards ruddy vino merely ( see Table II ) . Chinese attitudes associated with ruddy vino When asked about ideas associated with ruddy vino. all 15 interviewees began with differences between ruddy vino and Chinese liquors. Later. interviewees B and I compared ruddy vino with beer and J compared ruddy vino with foreign liquors.

In these Chinese Ideas Choosing ruddy vino or Chinese liquors depends on the juncture Red vino is less strong and therefore healthier than Chinese liquors Red vino has positive symbolic significance ( e. g. lucky and comfortable ) Red vino is peculiarly good for occasions such as spring festivals or observing good things Drinking ruddy vino indicates good societal image Peoples imbibing ruddy vino attentions about their face or image Drinking vino is more elegant and gracious than imbibing Chinese liquors Red vino is peculiarly good for occasions such as feasts with of import guan eleven hu.

Chinese know much less about vino. than about Chinese liquors Red vino is expensive Knowing people with good income drink ruddy vino You can blend ruddy vino with other drinks ( e. g. sprite ) so you drink less alcohol Beer gustatory sensations better than ruddy vino Red vino can non replace Chinese liquors Red vino is good for those who are non really good at imbibing Red vino drinkers are immature and modern Wine suits adult females more than work forces as it contains less alcohol Peoples who frequently drink ruddy vino like following western life styles Xiaozia prefer ruddy wine Wine suits get-togethers with less familiar or new friends as cipher would acquire rummy.

( acquiring rummy in public is abashing ) Red vino gustatory sensations good You can blend ruddy vino with other drinks ( e. g. sprite ) so you can seek more assortments than Chinese liquors Red vino is a better gift pick than liquors People above 40. white collared. will wish ruddy vino Chinese liquors have a bigger market than ruddy vino as people imbibing ruddy vino are a little group Wine is for grasp non for competition like Chinese liquors ( Chinese like to vie on the measure they drink when they consume Chinese liquors ) Count 11 8 8 8 7 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.

Chinese vino ingestion 103 Notes: aXiaozi straight translates as little capitalist. Compared to other middle-class Chinese. this subset is highly concerned with image and tends to devour expensive and branded goods to demo that they live better than others do. They frequently favour western life styles Interviewee ideas associated with ruddy vino Table II. consumers’ perceptual maps of alcoholic drinks. ruddy wine’s chief rival was Chinese liquors. Eleven out of 15 interviewees said that imbibing Chinese liquors or ruddy vino depended on the juncture or Chang Jiang he.

Among these 11 interviewees. eight said that ruddy vino was peculiarly good for observing Chinese New Year and other vacations as ruddy symbolises prosperity. fortune. and good luck. Interviewees C. E. and F. all business communities. ± said that ruddy vino was good for feasts with of import concern connexions or guan eleven hu. This common yarn among the business communities suggested that ruddy vino is get downing to look in concern feasts. traditionally dominated by Chinese or foreign liquors.

Besides juncture. another of import idea related to ruddy vino was properties. Red wine’s wellness facet was the most of import. and most recalled. property. Some of this perceptual experience may stem from Chinese Prime Minister Zhu’s 1997 address advancing IJWBR 19. 2 104 ruddy vino as healthy ( Anderson. 2001 ) . Eight of 15 interviewees believed that ruddy vino was healthier than Chinese liquors as it contained less alcohol. Of these eight interviewees. four were high income earners ( C. E. F. and N ) and four were in-between income ( A. H. I. and M ) .

Populating healthy is an emerging tendency for China’s middleand upper-income categories. so ruddy wine’s wellness facet likely attracts wealthier Chinese. Remarks from capable C. a bourgeois. covered the major sensed benefits that Chinese consumers had sing imbibing ruddy vino ( see below ) . Due to his age. he appeared to underscore the wellness facet of the ruddy vino. If I had a pick. I would imbibe ruddy vinos in most societal get-togethers.

Red vinos contain less alcohol so it is non as “lie” ( strong ) as Chinese liquors or foreign liquors ; hence. it is better for wellness. You know. at my age. when you reach 40. you must take attention of your wellness. You can’t imbibe intoxicant as if you drank when you were 18 or 20 twelvemonth old. Besides. there are different ways of imbibing ruddy vino such as consecutive ruddy vino or ruddy vino mixed with something else like a cocktail ( so it is less alcoholic ) . Even aged people and immature childs can imbibe ruddy vinos whilst these people won’t be up for Chinese or foreign liquors.

In add-on. ruddy vino indicates “good luck” so it is good for of import occasions such as birthday parties and festivals. Other properties mentioned were ruddy vino indicates good societal image ; people who drink it have good gustatory sensation ( B. C. E. G. I. M. and O ) . Red vino is expensive ( B. G. and O ) . beer tastes better than ruddy vino ( B and M ) . and ruddy vino is non strong plenty ( B ) . Compared with the wellness and societal image. the other properties seemed less of import. Consumers evaluate merchandises on intrinsic and extrinsic cues ( Ophuis and van Trijp. 1995 ) .

Wine’s intrinsic cues include physical properties such as coloring material. olfactory property. and gustatory sensation. which “ can non be changed without altering the physical merchandise itself” ; extrinsic cues associate with the merchandise but are “not physically portion of the product” such as trade name. monetary value. and distribution ( Dimara and Skuras. 2001. p. 692 ) . Healthy seems an extrinsic property as it stems from the perceptual experiences that red vino contains less alcohol than Chinese liquors. and ruddy vino is a fruit- instead than rice-based drink. Good societal image is besides an extrinsic cue.

The above analyses indicate that extrinsic instead than intrinsic properties dominate Chinese consumers’ perceptual experiences. This besides suggests that Chinese consumers know small about vino and aligns with surveies of intrinsic V extrinsic cues. Adept consumers. knowledgeable about the merchandise. rely more on intrinsic merchandise cues. while novice consumers with small merchandise cognition tend to trust more on extrinsic cues ( Maheswaran. 1994 ; Laroche. 2005 ) . A concluding class of ideas related to who consumes vino.

The most often mentioned statement was ruddy vino drinkers are witting about their face or image ( B. H. I. J. and M ) . Bing witting of mianzi. straight translated as face ( Graham and Lam. 2003 ) . is a cardinal Chinese feature ; people are witting of what other people think about them ( Zhang. 1996 ) . Four respondents ( D. G. J. and I ) noted that imbibing vino was more elegant and gracious than imbibing Chinese liquors. Two topics ( M and O ) commented that people who frequently drink ruddy vino like to follow the western ways of life as ruddy vino indicates something non-Chinese or. in peculiar. western.

These consequences confirm the importance of extrinsic cues. Drinking ruddy vino suggests good societal image. elegance. and grace. all of which indicate good mianzi. However. the perceptual experience that ruddy vino drinkers are witting about their mianzi could be negative. For illustration. Subject M. a knowing female in her early 30s. told the research worker that: Red vino is peculiarly attractive to those Xiaozi ( Small Bourgeois ) people but I am non a Xiaozi type of individual. ( Why? ) Well. I will see myself a middle-class individual with good income and instruction but a Xiaozi individual is different.

Xiaozi is non decided by instruction or income. but instead by the xingtai ( values ) . Some people may non hold high income but they are really concerned with their public image. They want to be seen as alone and different. When they speak. they will ever utilize a few English words in a Chinese sentence. They would besides talk Chinese with a slightly different qiangdiao ( modulation ) . They like to follow the tendencies and manners from western states. For illustration. they would imbibe Cappuccino instead than tea.

A Xiaozi type of individual may gain merely 3000 yuan a month but he or she could pass 4000 kwai on a Luis Vuitton bag. Frankly speech production. Cantonese ( Chinese life in and around Guangdong state ) people seem to be less xiaozi because Cantonese are really shiji ( practical or down to Earth ) so they care more about the existent maps or benefits of a merchandise instead than the image. For illustration. a rich Cantonese adult male may drive a BMW ( an expensive auto in China ) but he will halt in a little takeout at a street corner to purchase a bowl of beef noodles if he thinks the noodles are good.

This will ne’er go on with a Xiaozi type of individual. Chinese wine ingestion 105 The imbibing aroma When asked how frequently they drank vino. the responses were one to three times a month ( A. C. D. E. and F ) . one to three times a twelvemonth ( J. K. L. M. N. and O ) . and one time or twice in their life ( B. G. and I ) . Four out of the five heavy drinkers. albeit light drinkers compared to Australians. were business communities over 40. and had the highest income. They had more chances to imbibe ruddy vino as they attended more concern and societal maps.

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