Jiuxian Focuses on French Wines in New Push for Luxury Shoppers

The management team of Jiuxian, China’s top alcohol e-tailer, are off on a merry jaunt to France for a one-week bender fact-finding mission in which they’re aiming to strike up deals with French wine producers.

Jiuxian.com already has a vast selection of wines and spirits – including plenty of the local sorghum-based baijiu – but an announcement from the company points out that they want to focus more on foreign wines, and partner with more brands:

[C]hairman and founder Hao Hongfeng is leading the eight-member inspection team which includes the heads of the company’s strategy, purchasing, marketing, and finance divisions. China’s Ministry of Commerce is coordinating the trip which will include a tour of France’s Bordeaux region as well as other major wine-growing areas, and meetings with well-known French wine producers, among them Plaimont, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Pavie.

Mr. Hao also notes that, “French wine is hugely popular in the Chinese market for its premium quality and excellent reputation, especially among younger consumers.”

Since this is our first post about Jiuxian, let’s get acquainted over some numbers:

• Launched in September 2009
• The company aims to hit 2 billion RMB (US$317 million) in revenue by the end of 2012
• Annual growth rate of over 300 percent
• Series A funding of $20 million in April 2011
• Series B funding (of an undisclosed sum) in November 2011

It’s one of many sites that are growing on the back of the luxury boom in China, and is also up against other startup wine e-commerce sites like YesMyWine, Moooton, and TasteV.