China’s elite show preference for wine over baijiu

According to the latest Hurun Chinese Luxury Consumer Survey 2020, drinking among high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in China has grown 13% with 88% of them enjoying various forms of drinks and with an ever-growing preference for wine.

The survey interviewed 483 HNWIs in China. Their average total net asset value was 46 million RMB, with 51 of them holding over 1 billion RMB in assets. The interviewees were 36 years-old on average with a gender composition of 55% male and 45% female.

Interestingly, when considering a gift for men, wine had taken-over from high-end baijiu as the third most favourite category after electronic gadgets and timepieces.

Despite a decline from 2018, wine is still the most sought-after category (39%) for the HNWI group. The product is more popular among ladies than men however. The average spend on a bottle of wine was 850 RMB, while for the ultra HNWI, they are willing to spend 937 RMB in average.

Baijiu is their second favourite drink, however there was a 12% drop from last year. The average spend on the product is 1,200 RMB. Men are still the predominant drinkers of baijiu.

In terms of purchasing channels, 75% of the respondees still prefer off-line channels. Standalone boutiques of various baijiu brands are their most reliable channel, and it is where 60% of HNWIs acquire their baijius.

Whisky has also seen a rise in popularity with 22% of respondents stating a liking for it. The growth in preference is rather prominent for the ultra HNWI group. Meanwhile, this year Champagne’s popularity slumped from a 21% preference rate in 2019 to 15% in this report.