SYDNEY, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Despite a downgrade from Goldman Sachs credit rating agency to "sell," Treasury Wine Estate (TWE) said on Monday their "highly efficient route-to-market" investment in China will keep the company on track for their earnings guidance and expand the winemaker's leading position.
"We are continuing to execute on our strategy to be the imported wine category leader in China by both volume and value," TWE chief executive officer Michael Clarke said in a statement obtained by Xinhua.
The firm has risen from the ninth largest importer of wine to China, to number one in just three years; however, some fear a slow down in the Asian market and Goldman Sachs explained recently that expectations of growth in the Chinese market were unrealistic.
But TME believes new warehouse facilities in Shanghai at the end of 2017, along with the unveiling of its own premium French brand, Maison de Grand Esprit, will improve opportunities for retailers to stock a broader range of TWE brands and allow them to become more "nimble in responding to market needs."
"We are doing this by investing in closer, more efficient and strategic partnerships with existing and new customers and by positioning TWE as the wine supplier of choice across multiple brand portfolios and countries-of-origin," Clarke said.
TWE's largest brands include Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Beringer and Beaulieu Vineyard.
The company will now remain in a media blackout, ahead of the firm's annual results announcement on Aug. 17.
A single purchase
