Date£º
2019-07-15 15:21 Source£º
www.thedrinksbusiness.com Author:
Ben Young Translator:
Castle Li, general manager of China¡¯s largest wine importer and distributor, COFCO Wine&Wine, has stepped down from his position in a surprising departure.
According to reports in the Chinese media, Li is to be succeeded by Jiao Guoqiang, who has served as general manager of COFCO W&W¡¯s Shaoxing wine brand ¨C a Chinese wine known as huangjiu which is made from rice and which is often used in cooking.
The government-owned COFCO W&W, is China¡¯s largest wine importer in terms of volume with approximately 400 shops across China, is yet to release an official statement on the matter.
Li appeared to have a successful tenure leading COFCO¡¯s imported wine sector since taking over in December 2017, with sales revenue increasing by 50% to 1 Billion RMB in 2018. However, it is possible the company is not is satisfied with this growth rate, which was 140% in 2017 but which has slowed since.
Jiao certainly has a tough task in front of him as China¡¯s wine imports are expected to take a hit with a slowing economy, weakened RMB, and ongoing trade wars with the US.
It is possible too that Li¡¯s efforts were simply spread too thin having three major roles in the company ¨C being general manager of GreatWall and also deputy general manager of the COFCO Alcoholic Drinks Department, which revolves around the company¡¯s own domestic wine, baiju and spirit brands. According to reports, Li will retain these roles.
£¨https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2019/07/surprise-change-of-leadership-at-cofco/£©