HiteJinro Approaching 100th Anniversary Strengthens Growth Axis with Premium Wine

'2023 Grand Tasting' Opening
Strengthening Premium Brands... Expanding Market Share

Hite Jinro, which is approaching its 100th anniversary next year, is strengthening its wine business division to diversify its growth pillars beyond its core businesses such as soju and beer. Hite Jinro plans to increase its market share by expanding its premium wine brand portfolio, judging that domestic wine consumption is becoming more premiumized and polarized.

Super premium wine officially imported by HiteJinro.

According to the industry on the 16th, Hite Jinro held a 'Grand Tasting' event on the 15th at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seocho-gu, Seoul. This event was organized for industry insiders to introduce not only the famous brand wines currently distributed but also the products Hite Jinro launched domestically this year and brands scheduled for release next year.

While the domestic wine market has recently entered a pause phase, Hite Jinro is achieving favorable results. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Hite Jinro's wine business division recorded cumulative sales of 32.08382 billion KRW in the third quarter of this year. Although this is a slight decrease compared to the same period last year (32.12029 billion KRW), depending on the fourth quarter performance, when demand peaks, it is expected to surpass last year's record sales of 44.2 billion KRW.

Hite Jinro is the largest liquor company in Korea, but in the wine sector, it ranked around 7th in the industry based on last year's sales, and its scale is smaller compared to Lotte Chilsung Beverage, which competes in the soju and beer markets. However, compared to most importers who have recorded weaker performance this year compared to the previous year, such as Lotte Chilsung whose wine sales decreased by 14.5% to 62.8 billion KRW as of the third quarter, Hite Jinro's performance is relatively solid.

Despite the domestic wine market entering an adjustment phase, Hite Jinro's strong performance is attributed to its premium strategy. Following its premium brand expansion strategy, Hite Jinro is focusing on discovering hidden wines. In particular, it is concentrating on building mutually cooperative relationships with wineries that sell exclusively through allocation systems to expand domestic sales rights. This year alone, it launched 72 types of premium wines from 23 brands mainly from France, Italy, and Spain.

Hite Jinro is committed to securing premium wines because it believes the domestic wine market is becoming distinctly polarized. Since the end of last year, consumer sentiment has weakened, and with the endemic phase leading to increased social gatherings, some consumers who turned to wine during the pandemic are returning to traditional alcoholic beverages like soju and beer, causing sales of mid- to low-priced wines to decline. On the other hand, the premium market, including champagne, continues to grow steadily.

Hite Jinro expects this trend to continue next year and plans to focus on expanding its premium wine portfolio. Yu Taeyoung, Executive Director of the Premium Planning Team, said, "We plan to discover and increase the supply of high-quality products that have not yet been introduced to the domestic market. Although the market is stagnant, wine consumption culture is steadily taking root, especially among younger generations, so we expect the stagnation to be resolved after the first half of next year." He added, "We plan to increase consumer accessibility and boost market share by expanding various tasting events for industry professionals."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.