Gift liquor sales decline for Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year, which falls on 31 January this year, ordinarily brings a sales windfall, with Communist Party leaders giving each other bottles premium wines and spirits as well as holding lavish banquets.

However, there is a huge decline in gift liquor sales this year with the Chinese government’s demands for a cutback in luxury and wasteful spending.

Legal Evening News reported after visiting large supermarket like Wal-Mart, Hualian BHG, Auchan and MerryMart, there was no sign of gift wine and spirits zones in those supermarkets.

One of the supermarket staff said that it is common for supermarkets to purchase a number of gift liquors at the end of the year. Most of the gift liquors have a large and luxury packing box, which only sells in national holidays.

The gift liquor is usually sold at over 500 yuan (£50), while some high-end gift spirits can be priced at more than 1000 yuan (£100).

However, liquor sales in China this year have plummeted as President Xi Jinping clamps down on conspicuous consumption.

“I’m not going to do gift liquor business this year. It is indeed too difficult to sell”, said a wine shop owner in Beijing.

He added that while there was a huge profit in gift liquors business, it is also the vulnerable business because of the government crackdown. “ There are fewer people buying gift liquors this year. They would rather choose an ordinary packaged wine for gift sending,” he said.