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idating, and we are too shy to ask for
advice. It’s admitting you don’t know
anything about the product when the
wine community makes you feel you
should. But you have to remember that
wine connoisseurs are an
elite group.”
Paul Liversedge, General
Manager, Watson’s Wine
Cellar HK, concurs: “Many
consumers in Hong Kong
are already well educated in fine wines,”
he says. “They are generally high-income
individuals and we also supply top
hotels, restaurants and clubs. But a far
greater number don’t know much about
wine, so we are trying to make it easier
for ordinary people to understand.”
The key to success, of course, is being
able to supply the best wines at the best
prices so customers can be sure of getting
a quality product they will enjoy,
whether they are knowledgeable about
wine or not.
In charge of day-to-day operations,
Liversedge also spends much of his
time buying.
“To make sure we have the right
wines, we read a lot, we go to major
wine fairs around the world, and we try
our own producers’ wines,” he says.
“Tasting is very important. We taste
everything before we stock it. We keep
up to date with the latest vintages and
compare them with what we’ve got.
If we see wines we don’t have that
are highly rated, we make an effort
to get them.”
Concept and Culture
In response to what it has identified
as a vast, untapped wine-challenged
market, Watson’s Wine Cellar,
in a metaphorical sense, is taking its
wine out of the elite’s
stuffy cellar.
As the company embarks
on expanding in Hong
Kong, the image of a tradi-
tional cellar’s wine-racks
and subdued lighting is on the way out.
In its place is a light, bright new look
and philosophy – initially pioneered
at new outlets in Central and Causeway
Bay, but ultimately to set the benchmark
for the entire chain, which is eyeing
opportunities to develop the concept
both elsewhere in Asia and ultimately
in Europe.
At the new store in Central in
the heart of Hong Kong’s business dis-
R E T A I L
Watson’s is taking its wine out
of the elite’s stuffy cellar
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