16 May 2007 - Moët Hennessy, the wines and spirits business of LVMH, the world's leading luxury products Group, announces the acquisition of a 55% equity investment in Wen Jun Distillery, one of China's premium white spirit companies. Jiannanchun, the current owner of Wen Jun Distillery, will hold the remaining 45%, and will contribute actively to the success of the venture.
Moët Hennessy’s strategy of developing premium wine and spirit brands now extends to the Chinese premium white spirit market, following strong growth in the luxury consumer market in China. Moët Hennessy will apply its expertise in creating leading luxury brands to its partnership with Jiannanchun and plans to invest in the historic Wen Jun brand as well as in the production facilities.
The Wen Jun Distillery is based in Qionglai in the province of Sichuan in south-west China. This area is well-known for producing high-quality Chinese white spirits due to its excellent weather, water and soil conditions. White spirits have been produced at the Wen Jun Distillery for over 450 years. The name Wen Jun dates back 2,000 years to the time of a Chinese heroine, Zhuo Wen Jun. The stories of Wen Jun and her reputation for creating outstanding white spirits, together with the romantic legends that surround her, are well-known in China.
Christophe Navarre, President of Moët Hennessy, commented:
“This investment in China’s spirits industry signals an important strategic move for Moët Hennessy as it seeks to contribute to the development of the Chinese premium spirits market. Hennessy Cognac has been distributed with success in China since 1859 and Moët Hennessy has developed a deep understanding of the Chinese market, which has enabled us to apply our extensive expertise of harnessing and developing premium brands. We look forward to working closely with our partner Jiannanchun to realise the true potential of the Wen Jun brand.”