King Power snaps up Bordeaux
Duty-free specialist King Power, which has offices in Bangkok and Hong Kong, has acquired the Bordeaux wine estate Chateau Bernadotte from Champagne Louis Roederer for an undisclosed sum.
King Power also has investments in food and beverages, including wine interests in China, real estate, manufacturing, sports, brand development and leisure.
The acquisition of Chateau Bernadotte marks a new departure for the company, broadening its drinks and retail strategy, while capitalising on a synergy between its various activities.
Chateau Bernadotte operates a 40-hectare vineyard in Bordeaux’s prestigious Medoc region, producing 200,000 bottles a year.
It is ranked as a Cru Bourgeois, below the level of classed growth wines but still considered to be of good quality. A bottle of a recent vintage would retail at the cellar door for the equivalent of about Bt400.
The property was acquired by Roederer in 2007 when the Cham-pagne family bought second-growth Chateau Pichon Longueville Com-tesse de Lalande.
Originating in Hong Kong, King Power is a major player in the duty-free sector across Asia. It operates a retail network carrying an extensive portfolio of top-drawer brands, including Cartier, La Perla and Godiva. In 2006, the group acquired French costume-jewellery chain Agatha. In the drinks business, it already distributes brands including Hennessey, Remy-Martin, Courvoi-sier, Dom Perignon, and Bordeaux first growths Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild.
