China Market Entry of Australian Wine Brand "Hardys Shiraz". A Marketing Plan

Project Report from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1, , language: English, abstract: Hardys is a very successful and well established Australian wine brand with a long history and a wide range of different products including red and white grape wine as well as sparkling and sweet wines. Like many successful wine producers, Hardys plans to enter the Chinese wine market which has shown outstanding growth rates over the last years due to the Chinese perception of 8especially red) wine as elegant, exclusive, healthy and a symbol of high class, education, manners and upper life style. The Chinese market with its gigantic consumer potential is forecasted to quickly develop into one of the world¿s largest markets for imported wines from all around the world. Currently French imported wine is the largest competition on this market, followed by already successfully introduced other Australian brands (making Australia the second largest country of origin of imported wine in China). In addition there is a growing and constantly improving competition from domestic wines. Research and analysis based positioning elements for Hardys (Shiraz) in China will be the ¿sweet¿ taste, the ¿Australian¿ origin and a focus on information to educate the consumers to ¿smart¿ buyers of Hardys products. Selected customer segments provide a promising market potential in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou which builds the geographically most relevant market for imported wine in China. Through a themed yearly focus in accordance with Hardys positioning strategy, consumers¿ interest will be raised, their knowledge will be improved and with a variety of communication activities they will be turned into potential repeat buyers. Communication channels therefore will be a combination of classical print media (selected magazines) as well as a strong online presence as more and more wine-related product research is done online. In accordance with the selected target segment¿s life style and consumption habits, smart phone optimized content and access to information will play another crucial role in Hardys¿ brand communication. Pricing follows Chinese consumers¿ habits, expectations and perceptions as well as researched recent market trends and a strategic aspect of positioning Hardys as a ¿smart¿ choice with higher value for money compared to already established but often overpriced French brands.