Objectives

GRM Marketing were appointed by Chinese firm 1919.cn, one of the world's largest off-sales retailers to identify opportunities and support the business in gaining a foothold within the Scottish whisky industry as the company seeks to meet its domestic demand in China and expands internationally.

Strategy

• Research and identify opportunities Scottish whisky landscape, reaching out to key industry contacts within GRM’s network.

• Meet with Scottish whisky distilleries to identify and discuss opportunities for partnership and investment.

• Create video and photography and interview key staff in a timely fashion to send to 1919 executives overseas.

Outcome

With GRM’s extensive network and experience within the license trade the team quickly identified a range of potential opportunities within the industry and successfully pursued and networked a number of leads. From this the team coordinated with 1919 and the distilleries to organise a number of site visits and meetings.

GRM then managed the logistics for the visiting clients and ran the meetings and visits with the respective distilleries, whilst also capturing content and interviewing staff. This content was then edited and sent to 1919’s overseas executives within 24 hours of the visit so that they could quickly gain an accurate picture and understanding of the distilleries.

GRM’s work has resulted in advanced discussions with 3 distilleries around acquisition and investment and ongoing talks with an industry leader around joint venture opportunities.