L'Italia e il mercato vitivinicolo cinese

The aim of this thesis is a research of the wine market, an important product in the Italian economy and culture, and its development in China. In particular, the relations between Italy and China in this industry were examined, studying the possibility of development of Italian exports and investment in this Asian country. In the last twenty years, thanks to the increase of Chinese consumers' income also the purchase of made in Italy products in China has increased, and among these, that of wine, which is perceived as a status symbol. In the last decade, the reduction of customs duties on imported wines in China has encouraged the introduction and growth in the market for Italian companies, on the other hand the lack of knowledge of the product by the Asian consumers has slowed the large-scale spread of Italian wine. Unfortunately, French wine is considered better than Italian wine, according to the Chinese. A small part of this work is, in fact, dedicated to a comparison between France and Italy regarding exports and investment in the wine industry in China and the strategies adopted. The last part examines the experience of Italian wine in China, analyzing the difficulties that Italian companies face to get into the Chinese wine market, the so-called entry barriers: for example bureaucratic problems, the high initial costs, competition and Italy's problem of the lack of so-called "country system". The thesis presents possible solutions that every company, that wants to invest successfully in China, should adopt. Finally, after providing information on distribution channels of Italian wine in China, the importance of social networks and the Italian delay in e-commerce, there is a section about trade fairs and events in China. At the end of the final thesis there is also a case study anaylizing the experience of four Italian wine companies currently operating in the Chinese market: Gruppo Italiano Vini, Zonin, Donnafugata and Collina Serragrilli.