French ready for challenge

Wines & Vines, Sept, 2001 by Kevin Sinclair

The new general manager in Hong Kong for France's food and beverage trade body, Sopexa, is Anita Ma, who studied marketing at the University of Canberra and admits a sneaking appreciation for Australian wine.

"I'm now enjoying the diversity of French vintages," she is quick to add.

A former marketing executive with San Miguel breweries, she admits France's long dominance of Asian markets is now being challenged by countries like Australia and Chile, with fresh competition in lower price brackets from emerging wine producers in South America and Eastern Europe.

"I will be working on strengthening our position in the market and working on our weaknesses," Ma says.

Part of the message will be that France has a wine for every palate, every occasion and every budget. "From grand cru to daily table wine, France has something for everyone," she says.

In Hong Kong, Ma will be helping to push the common sense branding now being introduced throughout Asia to try to bring some basic information to consumers. Alain Ponsard, Sopexa director for Southeast Asia, explains that supermarkets and wine shops will soon be invited to use free tags to hang neckers on bottles. These will be color-coded for the different regions and will show information that French wine-makers often do not put on their labels; grape varieties will be noted, for instance, along with the appellation.

"French wines are often confusing and this will give guidance to the consumer," Ma says.

She believes the challenge of inexpensive New World wines can be met by Pays d'Oc vintages.

"I'm not ashamed of our low-cost French country wines," she said. "When people think French, they naturally think of grand cru. But it's the midprice wines that Frenchmen drink every day. They expect value for money."