WINE CONNECTION

ASIA WINE CONNECTION

Fruitful development of a top-class wine collection

W I N E

C O N N E C T I O N

Alain Trad, Chief Executive Officer

2

WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

Photography: Olmo Reverter

F

O

O

D

&

D

R

I

N

K

ASIA

REMOVING

THE RISK uperior quality ingredients and products have formed the foundation of Wine Connection, constantly exploring new ranges for both wine and food business lines.

Alain Trad, Chief Executive Officer at Wine Connection explains: “In order to achieve the quality of the successful products we have created, we have a stringent research & development department that ensures our new investments will be leading menu innovation in the market.”

Wine Connection is recognisable for its unique integration chain of wine retail and restaurant businesses, all of which have strengthened its leading position since inception in 1998 by the founder, Michael Trocherie. The Company has grown at a steady and fruitful pace, with an ever-increasing number of wine retail shops and its diversified full-service restaurant business.

The aforementioned innovative thinking has led Wine Connection to become owner and operator of the largest chain of wine retail shops, as well as full-service wine-themed restaurants in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

“Our business has been aided by the acquisition of the majority stake of

Since its inception, Wine Connection has been safeguarding Southeast Asia’s taste buds by unveiling the perfect selection of wines and wine-themed restaurants across the region Writer: Phoebe Calver Project Manager: Joshua Mann

Wine Connection in 2014 - by private equity firm, Abraaj - where both parties involved had a vision to develop the brand regionally,” affirms Alain Trad. “In the present day we are proud to be the exclusive importers of more than 300 wine labels from all over the world, including European craft beers, glassware, accessories and selected delicatessen products.”

“We have perfected our brand promise to make wine democratic and affordable, while providing great value for money,” continues Alain Trad.

“Our core philosophy is to provide high-quality products that are always selected with the end-consumer in mind. Getting both the pricing and communications right have proved to be crucial elements.”

This mindset has enabled Wine Connection to spread its wings to the 78 locations it enjoys currently, across three countries.

Brand promise

At Wine Connection, one of the fundamental aims of the Company has always been to establish itself as the leading chain of wine shops and winethemed restaurants located in South East of Asia.

A unique and integrated wine and restaurant business

WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

3

W I N E

C O N N E C T I O N

“When it comes to identifying potential new markets, we have honed our ability to seek out a blend of characteristics that include the country’s GDP and spending capacity, wine consumption behaviours, trends, wine importation barriers, eating habits, tourism and of course a strong local partner with operational background and financial capabilities,” Alain Trad says. “At present we are investigating expansion into an exciting variety of nations within Asia, and at present they are looking likely to move forward as joint-venture agreements and master franchise licensing.”

4

WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

At present we are investigating expansion into an exciting variety of nations within Asia...

There are a huge number of factors that need monitoring when it comes to the effects on the food & beverage industry and these range from consumer trends right across to competitor habits.

“Due to the fact that we do import a range of products directly - without a middle man - we need to keep track of the international situations that could influence our business through disruptions to these imports,” Alain Trad describes. “We have a detailed system in place for analysis of online and offline purchasing trends, as well as following local laws and regulations on alcohol.”

Trivento T

rivento has created an exclusive portfolio of brand-name wines that preserve the character of the Mendoza terroir. The prestige of the premium ranges is reflected in the international recognition received over the years, and is a product of continual investment in technology, infrastructure and expertise. Trivento has strengthened its status in more than 100 markets around the globe, earning its place as one of the top bottled wine exporters in the country. Today, Trivento is the most diversely distributed Argentinian wine brand.

Marketing Director Mónica Caamaño affirms: “Our efforts are aimed at strengthening the premium and super-premium market segments, projecting growth in the value of sales around the globe.”

From the heart of Mendoza Home to Trivento wines, Mendoza possesses a long tradition of winegrowing and serves as a springboard to many internationally acclaimed artists. The winery has established a meeting point that promotes the social aspects of this heritage.

Mendoza is the epicentre of winemaking in Argentina, with more than 70 percent of the nation’s vineyards found within the provincial borders. The locations of TRIVENTO’s 1.519 hectares were selected with the utmost care. These lands possess a wide range of topographies and microclimates, and are distributed into three distinct micro-regions: Uco Valley: 592 hectares Luján-Maipú Oasis: 564 hectares Eastern Oasis: 363 hectares

Winemaking facilities feature equipment with the latest technology for winemaking production. An additional special room houses the 4,500 French and American oak barrels used in ageing premium wines.

Experience and investment combine in the constant search for new techniques and technologies, leading to wines of exceptional quality. A dedicated team of winemakers and technicians work hard to optimise the expressiveness and quality of each varietal.

Our Identity: Trivento means three winds: The Polar, Zonda and Sudestada winds blow across the sunny and arid land of Mendoza.

Icy and dry, the Polar wind blows in from the South, announcing the onset of winter. The first cold fronts indicate the time for pruning has begun. Toward the end of winter, soil is kept humid and grass is cut short to trap cold air at ground level.

The Zonda wind descends from the Andes year-round, but its frequency peaks in spring.

Its gusts of hot and dry air improve budding on the vine. During episodes of the Zonda wind, shoots are affixed to the trellis wires and watering increases to ward off dehydration.

The Sudestada wind is the fresh breeze of summer that sometimes brings storms.

Cloudiness allows clusters to rest from the broiling sun. This ensures equilibrium in the grapes’ metabolism and leads to uniform ripening.

Each agitating seasonal wind pierces the intimate calm of Mendoza, leaving their mark in our wines.

W I N E

C O N N E C T I O N

Positive company culture

In order for any of these strategies to work, the right people are needed to carry the projects forward and are viewed as the pillars holding the Company up.

“We are willing to teach the required skill-sets to those that demonstrate the willingness to learn, however they must come with the right attitude to begin with,” explains Alain Trad. “Striving to be among the top employers through a positive company culture is vital to our growth, as well as providing competitive salary structures, attainable career paths and an overall good reputation within the community.”

“At Wine Connection we have been successful because we are able to provide our customers with quality wine and European-style food, at an incredibly reasonable price.”

8

Providing its teams with extensive knowledge and an understanding that each individual may have learning preferences, are elements supported and implemented across several training platforms, thus ensuring employee success.

“Our training methods include traditional classroom settings with lecturers, on-the-job training with inhouse trainers and a modern e-learning system,” adds Alain Trad. “This blend of different methods allows us to provide fair training to all of our employees, giving them the chance to achieve”.

“Then of course there is the issue of retention of our staff, which we take very seriously through offering achievable incentive schemes and rewards for those that positively impact our business.”

Although the Company does place importance on having a local team, it is aware that there are some aspects

WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

BR GROUP

B

R Group is one of the world’s largest integrated duck producers and marketers with production centers in Thailand and the Netherlands.

The Company offers a wide variety of foods and agricultural products including; duck feed, duck eggs, duckling, live duck, duck feather, duck meat and duck meat based & prepared food products.

The Company supplies both fresh and cooked duck products to many leading restaurant chains around the world including Wine Connection. So, if you are interested, you can try one of our duck menu “the duck confit” right here.

T + 66 2 317 1771

www.br-brgroup.com

F

O

O

D

&

D

R

I

N

K

- such as country culture, traditions, languages and communications - that are not necessarily trainable.

“These are all essential factors to the success of Wine Connection, and therefore we ensure that we can source this information in order not to lose sight of our customers’ needs,” Alain Trad affirms.

Strategic relationships

As a partner of the Abraaj Group, Wine Connection has always held a strong conviction that the relationship between business and society should be mutually beneficial. The partnership has worked together to implement environmental policies to increase the value of resource use, while reducing costs and generating goodwill among the communities and markets in which the Company operates.

Alain Trad states: “The Abraaj Sustainability Index (ASI) provides a

Photography: Olmo Reverter

ASIA

bespoke reporting and accountability index that is designed to capture the broad development impact of every partner company.”

“At Wine Connection we have been successful because we are able to provide our customers with quality wine and European-style food, at an incredibly reasonable price,” concludes Alain Trad. “We have a dedicated team of experts that taste an impressive number of wines during the year, in order to select the best value gems, award-winning classics and exciting new tastes.

“Our business model has been incredibly successful within the countries that we operate and as is with all the growing markets and opportunities within the region, we believe that we are well prepared to take on the challenge of expanding into those markets in the years to come.”

WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

9

C O M P A N Y

10

N A M E

WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

S

E

C

T

O

R

N

A

M

E

ASIA

WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

11

1 Sivadon Building 1st Floor, Unit 5, 10th Floor, Unit 1005 - 1006, Convent Road, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok, 10500, Thailand.

Tel: +66 (0)2 234 0388 infoth@wineconnection.com

www.wineconnection.com

www.outlookpublishing.com