Wine and spirits retailers are expecting their cash registers to be ringing busily all the way until the Mid-Autumn Festival in two weeks, as gift boxes recently began flying off the shelves, industry officials said yesterday.
The economic upturn and a dazzling array of liquor products available to consumers are the driving forces behind strong demand this year, officials added.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Morgan Hwang (黃營杉), chairman of Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (台灣菸酒公司), estimated that the buying period leading up to the festival is worth an estimated NT$2 billion. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, or Sept. 28 this year. A traditional holiday, the festival involves the giving of liquor and moon cakes to clients and friends.
In addition to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Lunar New Year is viewed as another major selling period for the liquor industry.
To attract additional customers over the next two weeks, the liquor company yesterday showcased its 47 kinds of limited-edition wine and spirits gift sets, with some featuring designs by aboriginal artists in the hope of preserving Taiwan's unique cultures, Hwang said.
By integrating Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政公司), which operates roughly 1,300 post offices nationwide, Hwang projected that up to 200,000 gift boxes would be sold, amounting to NT$300 million in profits, a four-fold increase over last year's sales.
"The sales performance will see a big jump, as the overall economy remains solid and all our employees are helping promote the gift boxes," Hwang said.
Maxxium Taiwan Ltd (寰盛洋酒), the importer of Remy Martin and Macallan, also expects a two-digit increase in sales this month thanks to the growth in customers' product preferences.
Maxxium Taiwan Ltd's brand manager Michael Lin (林庭蔭) said that an increasing number of consumers have developed a more refined palate and don't mind paying extra to obtain better-quality liquor.
High-end wine and liquor items, which range between NT$2,680 and NT$40,000 per box, will see the largest rate of growth -- to the tune of 20,000 boxes in the run-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lin added.
In stark contrast to liquor retailers' high-end marketing drive, hypermarkets across the nation will feature much cheaper liquor boxes to lure price-conscious consumers.
Fiona Wang (王彤芳), marketing manager of RT-Mart (大潤發) said based on last year's experience, wine and spirits gift sets priced between NT$500 and NT$700 are more favorable to shoppers.
As a result, the 22-outlet operator slashed the average box price by 10 to 20 percent, with the goal of selling 300,000 liquor boxes, which would amount to NT$180 million in profits.
Sales among discount retailers is expected to grow over 20 percent during the run-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, Wang said.
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