SA shows early wine gains in Japan
Friday, 30 November, 2001
Pippa Pringle
Report back from Motoko Ishii for WOSA
Growing popularity of New World wines is proving the gateway for South African wines in Japan, according to Motoko Ishii, Wines of South Africa (WOSA) agent, based in Tokyo. She says that while France remains the leading presence in this market followed by Italy, New World wine producers are making steady gains, which is good news for South Africa wine exporters.
WOSA has been active in Japan since May 2001, when Ishii, a wine educator and marketer who studied viticulture and winemaking in California, opened the organization’s office.
Says WOSA CEO Su Birch ‘Japan is still an extremely new market which South African producers have just begun to tap, and exposure among the Japanese to Cape wines is very much in the early stages. However, we are encouraged by the market's willingness to try South African products. Producers who have entered this market are meeting with favourable responses.’
She says the increasing popularity of New World producers in this market seems to underscore recent projections of the Australian wine industry that New World producers are collectively claiming a growing slice of the international wine market. Its research suggests that New World producers will have a 23% share of the total world wine market by 2005, as opposed to 17% in 1999.
WOSA is distributing a manual for wine producers and exporters, prepared by Ishii on doing wine business in the Japanese market, concentrating on consumption patterns and the country's distribution of wines, as well as labelling and business etiquette.
‘We are taking the long-term view. On the one hand we want to ease the passage for South Africans entering the Japanese market. On the other, we recognize that intensive education is required to build awareness about both South Africa and its wines among the Japanese trade and consumers.’
Ishii says wine is still a relatively new beverage to the majority of
Japanese and represents just over 3% of total liquor consumption. With a preference for low-alcohol drinks, the Japanese drink more beer than anything else, which accounts for a whopping 70% of their consumption, followed by traditional alcoholic products sake (rice wine) and shochu (a white spirit enjoyed with mixers).
‘Although Western influences have taken root in many areas of Japanese life, eating and drinking patterns remain largely traditional. Nevertheless, wine consumption is growing. It peaked in 1998 and then fell sharply as a result of the country's economic woes in the latter part of the last decade.
‘It has begun rising once more, but price remains a key factor, as disposable income is not as flexible as it once was for most Japanese people. However, this gives South African products a distinct advantage when viewed against the erosion in value of the rand. It means quality Cape wines can sell very competitively,’ says Ishii.
Most wines sold in Japan are purchased from liquor stores, followed by on-consumption outlets and then supermarkets. Department stores focus at the higher end of the market, selling more expensive wines.
Birch says WOSA also plans to begin exploring emerging markets in Asia such as Thailand and India. ‘India could prove to hold significant potential given its historical ties with South Africa. Certain sectors of its population have an established wine drinking culture, and trading ties between the two countries are strengthening.’
Issued by De Kock & Kerkhoff Communication Consultants
For Wines Of South Africa (WOSA)
Queries: Su Birch, WOSA
Tel: +27 (0) 21 883 3860
Mobile: 082 563 0677
Pippa Pringle
De Kock & Kerkhoff Communication Consultants
Tel: +27 (0)21 424 5280
Fax: +27 (0)21 424 5290
Email: pippa@dkk.co.za