Australia's largest wine company has been hit hard by the high tariffs imposed by China on Australian wine. That is why Accolade is now trying to remain present in the Chinese market with its wines from other origins, as CEO Robert Foye explains in an interview with the Financial Times. Specifically, he mentions Chile.
Despite the negative developments for Australian wine in China, he is optimistic about the future. He sees the market for luxury goods in the country, where prosperity continues to grow, as far from exhausted. Exports to China plummeted by 96 percent in the period from December to March, shortly after the introduction of tariffs of up to 218 percent.
Since the takeover of Accolade by the private equity group Carlyle in 2018, the company has been focusing even more on premium wines. Thus, more high-quality wine is to be produced in Chile, the USA and South Africa, which could score points on the Chinese market. Overall, sales in markets outside the EU and UK are to be increased from 40 to 60 percent.
The CEO expects profits to rise by 25 percent in the current year to June. And an IPO is also getting closer for Accolade. "I want to do an IPO. And that is what we are going to do at Accolade Wines. So we are going to do that in the next two to three years either on the Australian Stock Exchange or actually I'd like to do it on the Hong Kong stock exchange," Foye said. aw
