Two once-fierce competitors are combining forces in China’s wine industry.
Veteran importers and distributors Summergate and Torres China, both founded in the late 1990s, are part of a deal officially signed today in Shanghai. Alex Li, CEO of WAJIU, which owns Summergate, and Miguel Torres, CEO of Familia Torres, which owns Torres China, were the signatories.
The agreement sees Spain-based Familia Torres invest in Summergate, which will acquire Torres China.
According to a press release, Torres’ and Summergate’s advantages in servicing customers and adding brand value “can be boosted with digitalization and strong warehousing logistics support from WAJIU Group.”
WAJIU Group, founded in 2014, is involved in global wine trading, wine brand promotion, warehousing and delivery, and more.
News of the deal comes during dire times for the wine trade. The first five months of 2023 found import volume and value drop 31 percent and 16 percent respectively, the latest of many declines over the past half-dozen years.
Torres China started in 1997 and was under the leadership of Alberto Fernandez for most of its history. The company imported wines from over a dozen nations, led by those from the properties of the Torres family, and built the Everwines brand, with both online and brick-and-mortar outlets.
Fernandez played a significant role in popularizing local wines by adding Grace Vineyard (Shanxi) in 2002 and Silver Heights (Ningxia) in 2009 to the portfolio, placing them in top hotels and restaurants at an era of few quality Chinese wineries. Mireia Torres, sister of Miguel and Familia Torres’s Director of Knowledge and Innovation, even traveled to China to make wine at Grace Vineyard, including a Muscat.
(Grace, now active in China’s gin and whisky businesses, later moved to the Suntory-owned importer ASC Fine Wines.)
Ian Ford and Brendan O’Toole launched Summergate in 1999. Brands in those early years included Villa Maria Estate, Yalumba, Bouchard Pere et Fils, Delicato, Ridge and Dr. Loosen. Summergate also helped launch, and was an investor in, the Pudao Wines chain of shops.
Australian liquor giant Woolworths bought Summergate in 2014, with WAJIU taking ownership earlier this year.
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