Hema expands wine displays, segments shelves by grape variety

Summary

Some Hema Fresh stores in Chengdu have expanded their wine displays, with one store growing from a single shelf to three full display faces and another increasing to four display cabinets, WBO visits found. The Hema app carries nearly 150 wine SKUs covering dry red, dry white, sparkling and rosé, plus more than 50 mixed packs and over 10 gift boxes. Wines priced at RMB 50–200 occupy more shelf space, including Penfolds Koonunga Hill and Oran Little Red Riding Hood; the lowest-priced product is Spanish imported Aopurui Tempranillo dry red at RMB 29.9 per bottle, while the lowest-priced white is a South African Chenin Blanc and Riesling blend at RMB 39 per bottle.

Hema divides shelving by four grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling, with about 5–10 wines per single variety. For example, a store carries eight Sauvignon Blanc wines including private label, while an app search returns 26 including gift box combinations. Wine supplier Wang Chuanfu estimates that New World origins such as Chile, Australia and New Zealand account for about 60–70 percent of products, with Old World countries including France, Italy and Spain making up the rest.

Store staff said the focus is on mid-to-low-priced wines, with demand for high-priced wines handled online. Lu Xi, an importer in Qingdao, said Hema adjusts its selection based on city consumption levels, store positioning and surrounding customer base, and that Beijing and Shanghai stores still display fine wine château labels. Sun Wei, a wine supplier in Nanjing, said products are evaluated about 40 days after entering stores based on sales and inventory, and that high inventory may lead to returns.

Commentary

Hema Fresh, Alibaba's new retail benchmark, is adjusting its wine display strategy in a way that reflects structural changes in China's mass wine consumption market. The Chengdu stores' expansion of display space to three or four faces, segmentation by grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling, and focus on the RMB 50–200 price band are not isolated moves. After years of rapid growth, China's wine market is shifting from gift-giving and business banquets to everyday drinking occasions, with consumers increasingly demanding value for money and grape variety knowledge.

Hema's variety-based classification lowers the choice threshold, and its emphasis on white wine aligns with younger and female consumers' preference for crisp, easy-drinking styles. For New Zealand SME owners, this change is worth watching. New Zealand wine has long held an advantage in China with Sauvignon Blanc, brands such as Oyster Bay are already on Hema shelves, and in some stores New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc priced under RMB 100 is popular with shoppers.

Hema's variety-based display effectively gives New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc a clearer position, allowing it to compete directly with similar products from Chile, France and other origins. However, competition is also intensifying: Hema's private label and low-priced products from Spain and South Africa are squeezing price space, and the RMB 29.9 Spanish Tempranillo and RMB 39 South African Chenin Blanc blend show that the entry-level market has entered a price battle. If New Zealand wineries rely only on traditional brand premiums, they may struggle to maintain sales momentum within Hema's system.

From a supply chain perspective, Hema's supplier assessment mechanism—evaluation about 40 days after entry based on sales and inventory, with high inventory potentially leading to returns—means that small and medium-sized New Zealand wineries supplying directly would bear higher logistics and return costs. A more feasible path is to work through local Chinese importers or Hema's established supply chain service providers to reduce risk. At the same time, New Zealand wineries could consider developing product lines for China's mass market, for example emphasising the typical flavours of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc while keeping pricing under RMB 100 to match Hema's main price band.

On the other hand, Hema still offers online sales of fine wines in some cities, indicating that premium New Zealand wines such as Pinot Noir still have opportunities to reach consumers through online channels, although offline display resources are limited. New Zealand SMEs should differentiate product positioning: mass-market wines should aim for offline variety shelves, while fine wines can use the Hema app and membership system for targeted marketing. Hema's adjustment also reflects growing attention to the wine category among Chinese retail channels, and other new retail platforms may follow with similar strategies.

The New Zealand wine industry needs to closely monitor changes in the product selection logic of Chinese retail terminals, moving from reliance on brand stories alone to providing clear variety information and value advantages. For New Zealand SMEs, understanding Chinese consumers' habit of choosing wine by variety and optimising product portfolios and packaging information accordingly will be key to winning shelf space.

Keywords: Hema, wine display, grape variety, RMB 50–200 price band, Sauvignon Blanc, white wine, SKU, Chengdu stores, New World wine, supermarket selection

Source: Wealth Account