"They don't know Aces or big Vuitton 0380 names, they just know Mascube. They just trust us, so we feel our responsibility is very huge. If the product is not good, our Vuitton 0381 would be destroyed," Wang said. Gift giving is a large part of the Chinese culture, with some companies shelling out 500,000 RMB for nicely wrapped and packaged gifts for their employees and clients during the holidays, Wang explained. But tapping into the Chinese market is not that easy. Most drinkers still reach for domestic wines. Greg Berti, from Peller Estates in Ontario's Vuitton 0382 region, says about 28 million people in China buy imports. With no distribution channels in place, setting up shop can be Vuitton 0383 for newcomers. Canada's icewine - a favourite in Asia - could end up being the golden ticket into the Chinese market for this country's vintners.
The charm offensive Vuitton 0376 successful. Aces' 1,000-bottle shipment was sold out by midday. It was Clausen's first visit to China, and he suggests it will be the first of many. Re-orders came in 12-fold for his poker-chip designed bottles, which are selling for between $30 Vuitton 0377 $102 in China; a 30-per-cent mark-up from the retail price in Canada. He is also looking into commercial production to handle the demand for coming trade shows in China in August and November, when top hospitality buyers, politicians and dignitaries converge to order hot-ticket items. Clausen said he's received calls in the past from Chinese companies, but none was Vuitton 0378 right fit until Vancouver-based export and import company Pomer knocked on his door. Pomer's parent company, Mascube, is based in Ningbo, a mid-size city known to be part of the ancient Silk Road and one of the fastest-growing Vuitton 0379 areas in China. Mascube recently launched Hoy Import Mart, a membersonly wholesale club where business owners and clients pay as much as 50,000 RMB ($7,340 Canadian) for their registration shopping cards. "It's like Costco, but for very rich people," said Pomer's office manager, Flora Wang.
With growing salaries and more Vuitton 0372 income, the wealthy elite of the world's second largest economy are increasingly looking for the next big luxury item to show off their wealth - even if they haven't developed the palates of true connoisseurs. With top French wines fetching record-breaking prices, Canadian wineries are trying the sell their liquid gold in hopes of Vuitton 0373 an emerging market. Winemaker Holger Clausen knows a thing or two about taking risks. The high-stakes poker player made his fortune playing Texas hold 'em and invested his winnings to build Aces Winery in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. "I have Vuitton 0374 passions in life - poker and wine," said Clausen, who last month showcased his selection of red wine at a consumer trade show in the port city of Ningbo, about a three-hour drive from Shanghai. With a translator by his side, Vuitton 0375 Red mingled his way through the crowd, telling his story about hitting the jackpot at noon and catching the red eye to harvest grapes the next morning.
In Russia, Sephora increased its Vuitton 0368 Purple in the Ile de Beauté retail chain, one of the key players in the market, to 65%. Profit from recurring operations for the first half of 2011 rose to 2,223 million euros, an increase of 22% compared to the same period in Vuitton 0369 Red, which had itself shown strong growth. It was stable for the Perfumes & Cosmetics business while it increased by 63% for the Selective Distribution business. In global market experiencing a strong growth, despite an uncertain monetary environment, LVMH deems being able to continue to gain market share thanks to the numerous product launches planned before Vuitton 0370 end of the year, and to its geographic expansion in promising markets.It's not an uncommon scene to witness Louis Vuitton-Vuitton 0371 businessmen dilute their $500 bottle of Hennessy with Coca-Cola or shoot back their glass of red wine like vodka in China.
It doesn ’t hurt that Mr. Vidal is a Vuitton Monogram Multicolore keepall 45 (white) M92641 performer. At a Chinese New Year banquet in Vancouver earlier this year, he captured the attention of hundreds of diners with his presentation of chok yeung – a term referring to the overposed gaze popular in photos posted to Facebook. Unafraid to ham it up, Mr. Vidal struck pose after pose to the crowd’s delight. In Canada, Mr. Vidal strikes a chord with Canadian-born Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Lodge PM (black) M40054. “CBCs” know some Chinese – usually to communicate with family or to order in a restaurant – but aren’t up to date with the latest slang. Many share childhood memories of tedious Cantonese classes taught by humourless instructors. “Our teachers were so old- Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Lodge PM (white) M40053. If you talked, then you had to write dictation 30 times, like copy a story out, as your punishment,” recalls Briar Gorton, whose parents enrolled her in Chinese classes to maintain her mother’s culture. “Could the learning experience have been more fun? Definitely.” Ms. Gorton finds Mr. Vidal’s videos “hilarious and relevant.” “If you go to Hong Kong, Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Mini HL (black) M92644’s talking in slang, and if you don’t understand what they’re talking about, you’re missing half the conversation.” Mr. Vidal says the most rewarding part of his hobby comes from people who are having fun with the language: “I get messages saying … ‘I haven’t spoken Chinese for so long, and you inspired me to start again.’
Mr. Vidal’s Caucasian mother and Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Greta Black M40196 father find it funny that their son – a business student and student union president at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C. – has become an online sensation. Mr. Vidal learned Cantonese relatively recently: In 2005, he travelled to Hong Kong as part of a Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Greta M40195 for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the next two years, he immersed himself in the Cantonese dialect using books and audio tapes. “I would try to study for an hour or so every day; just try to memorize vocabulary,” he says. “When I was on the Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Griet M93554 White, or asked for directions, or buying food, I would always practise my Chinese.” His proficiency has impressed Chinese speakers, including Duanduan Li, director of the Chinese language program at the University of British Columbia. Chinese is a notoriously difficult Vuitton Monogram Multicolore keepall 45 (black) M92640 to learn because every sound has a specific tone, Prof. Li says. “And even the same sound has so many different tones. “I think people are very amazed by his gift in learning the language in just two years.” While Mr. Vidal’s videos won’t replace bona fide language classes, they’re a good way to enhance them, she says.