Yalumba announces Suntory partnership

The Yalumba Wine Company and Suntory have announced a distribution deal in Japan starting this October.

The deal will see Yalumba and Oxford Landing Estates distributed in Japan through Suntory starting from 6 October this year.

Previously, the two brands were distributed by Jeroboam and Nick Waterman, CEO of Yalumba, acknowledged its work but added: “we are very excited to work with a company of the strength and size of Suntory. A big consideration for us was the fact that Suntory, like Yalumba which was founded in 1849, remains under family ownership.

“This partnership gives us the opportunity to grow significantly in the Japanese market which appears well poised for Australian wineries especially on the back of the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement which came into effect on 15 January 2015 and will see tariffs on wine eliminated over the next seven years.”

Suntory, which owns Château Lagrange and Beychevelle among other properties, is focused on growing the premium wine category in Japan and has partnerships with over 150 wineries from around the world.

President, Yuji Yamazaki, commented: “We believe that there will be a good chance in the growing market of Australian wines in Japan, especially the premium wine segment, and we are excited to be able to distribute Yalumba and Oxford Landing Estates brands in Japan.

“Yalumba and Suntory have similar backgrounds, they both have over 100 years of history, and never settle on tradition but seek for innovation.  We are sure that Yalumba and Suntory will consolidate our partnership.”