Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Industry Coalition

The Challenge

Excessive wine and spirits duties, amongst the highest in the world, created significant market distortions in Hong Kong’s alcoholic beverage market. Faced with artificially high prices, residents and international visitors alike were forced to trade down and select lower-quality beverages, negatively impacting consumer choice. The differential between Hong Kong’s high level of taxation and that of various neighbouring regions may have also caused increased illegal smuggling of alcoholic beverages, resulting in the loss of government tax revenue. The Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Industry Coalition (HKWSIC), a coalition of importers and distributors representing 80 leading brands, hired APCO Worldwide to better represent the views of consumers and the industry as a whole.

The Solution

APCO designed an integrated public affairs and strategic communication programme to forge new alliances and ensure key messages were heard by Hong Kong’s most influential decision-makers. Working with other relevant industry bodies the coalition managed to find common ground, resulting in a unified written proposal to the Hong Kong government. Ahead of the development of the Hong Kong budget, APCO helped the HKWSIC engage with members of the Legislative Council, and the Financial Services and Trade Bureau. Emphasis was placed on promoting Hong Kong’s international image, strengthening the catering and hospitality industries within the local economy and improving the overall quality of life.

Ahead of the announcement of the Hong Kong budget, APCO worked with local media contacts to heighten the level of awareness of the issue and to carefully position the coalition. In addition to pitching for media interviews and speaking opportunities, APCO also assisted the HKWSIC with the development of fact sheets, press releases and Q&A documents.

The Result

In his budget speech, Hong Kong’s financial secretary announced that he would reduce taxation on wine products by 50 percent. Moreover, he also made reference to a potential zero percent wine tax in the future, as well as the possible development of Hong Kong as an international wine-trading hub. In the next year's budget, following a renewed campaign orchestrated by APCO, wine tax in Hong Kong was abolished altogether. In two years Hong Kong has gone from having among the highest wine duties in the world, to having the lowest. Aside from taxation issues, the HKWSIC is now positioned as the most influential industry organization in its field and has established important relationships with members of Hong Kong’s business and political communities.

Services Provided

• Coalition building
• Government relations
• Issue management
• Media relations
• Positioning

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