VIN & SPRIT GETS TASTE FOR CHINA SPIRIT
By Robert Anderson in Stockholm
Friday, June 01, 2007
瑞典VIN & SPRIT进军中国白酒市场


Vin & Sprit, the Swedish producer of Absolut vodka, has formed a joint venture in China to produce baijiu, the world's best selling spirit by volume.
出产绝对伏特加(Absolut vodka)的瑞典制造商Vin & Sprit已在中国成立了一家合资公司生产白酒，白酒是全球销量最大的烈性酒。


V&S will invest an undisclosed sum in a 51 per cent stake in a joint venture with JianNanChun, the third largest producer by revenue, to launch new premium baijiu brands for the fast-growing Chinese market.
V&S将与剑南春成立一家合资公司，为增长迅速的中国市场推出新款优质白酒。V&S将持有该合资公司51%的股权，但没有透露具体投资金额。按收入计算，剑南春是第三大酿酒商。


In the past six months Diageo and LVMH have also invested in Chinese producers of the grain-based spirit, partly to reinforce the marketing push for their own international drinks brands.
在过去6个月中，Diageo和LVMH也纷纷投资于以粮食酿酒的中国生产商，这在一定程度上是为其自身的国际酒类品牌加强营销攻势。


V&S's joint venture may take over one of its partner's recently launched baijiu brands this year and will create new brands aimed at increasingly affluent Chinese drinkers. The company forecasts that the premium baijiu segment will grow 11 per cent a year until 2013.
V&S的合资公司可能会接管其合作伙伴今年推出的系列白酒品牌中的一款，并为日益富裕的中国饮酒者打造新的品牌。该公司预计，在2013年前，优质白酒领域将每年增长11%。


JianNanChun produced 8.1m cases last year and earned SKr165m ($24m) on sales of SKr2.85bn, according to V&S, which predicts that the joint venture will be in the black within two years.
V&S表示，剑南春去年的产量为810万箱，销售额28.5亿瑞典克朗，盈利1.65亿瑞典克朗（合2400万美元），V&S预计合资公司将于两年内实现盈利。


“The potential is big and even with a moderate market share the potential looks very appealing financially,” said Ketil Eriksen, president of V&S Absolut Spirits.
V&S绝对伏特加公司总裁凯Ketil Eriksen表示：“潜力是巨大的，即便市场份额不大，但从财务上讲，潜力也非常诱人。”


V&S's Absolut brand, the top-selling vodka in China, will continue to be distributed through Maxxium, its part-owned international joint venture.
V&S的“绝对”品牌，是在中国销量最好的伏特加，该品牌将继续通过Maxxium分销，Maxxium是其拥有部分股权的国际合资公司。


Mr Eriksen said sales of Absolut had been growing in high double digits since its launch in the Chinese market in 2001 but that the total international spirits segment represented less than 1 per cent of the Chinese spirits market. “We strongly believe that the imported spirits market will continue to emerge,” he said.
Eriksen表示，自2001年打入中国市场以来，“绝对”品牌的销量一直以较高的两位数增长，但国际烈酒品牌总销量占中国烈酒市场的份额还不足1%。他表示：“我们坚信，进口烈酒市场将继续增长。”