By LAWRENCE TAN
If there is a global economic crisis going on at the moment,
some of China’s wealthiest elite are probably not feeling it.
Bloomberg reports that Chinese buyers are snapping up Pernod
Ricard SA’s ultra-premium cognac, the L’Or de Jean Martell, each priced at
$3,600.
Introduced in China at the end of last year, the L’Or, which
means “gold” in French, is a double distillation of the clearest eaux-de-vie (a
sophisticated blend of four finest growths from the Borderies and Grande
Champagne regions) aged over a century in fine-grain oak barrels.
Pernod’s commercial director for cognac and champagne,
Jean-Etienne Gourgues told Bloomberg: “If you want to be taken seriously in
Asia, you really need this kind of product. It gives your brand the necessary
cachet.”
Like major fashion labels Louis Vuitton and Chanel, some of
the world’s largest makers of premium spirits and liquor are banking on China
as a lucrative market to boost sales amidst a harsh economic climate that have
affected sales in chief markets in the United States and Europe.
Pernod’s rival LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton also had
glowing reports of Chinese sales, and said China has overtaken the U.S. as its
biggest source of revenue and profits last year.
Pernod
Ricard
Martell
via Bloomberg