In the Mood for Sake
"High end supermarket city'super has been pushing hard for sake since its early days. Operating in both wholesale and retail fronts across Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan, it is among the most informed about the sake market. "Our boss is a great sake lover. Therefore, we’ve been importing sake since city’super opened in 1996. Certainly, Hong Kong people were not as familiar to it back in the days as they are now. That’s why apart from making sales, we also put a lot of resources of promoting the sake culture," Naoto Shiozawa, the sake buyer of city'super WineCellar, said. "Barring yearly fluctuations, the sales figure has progressed steadily over the years. For instance, it goes up for 34% compared to five years ago. According to the official statistics from the Japanese government, Hong Kong made 2.2 billion yen of imports in sake in 2015. That’s 16% of the total exports for Japan. It makes Hong Kong the second largest sake importer in the world, just below America." Olive Leung, also a sake buyer at city’super, mentioned that the procedure to discover a brand with potential and establish it in Hong Kong is nothing short of challenging. "We have to develop a deep relationship with the sake makers, and at the same time introduce their special features to our customers." - Michelin Guide Digital-Hong Kong Macau
