‍‍By CGTN’s Dong Luojia

Claudia Masueger came to China in 2008, with only two suitcases of wine samples and great enthusiasm to learn about the country. That was the beginning of her China story.

Claudia grew up in a wine family, which has been in the business since her grandmother started wine trading in 1898. But for a century, the company only operated in Europe. When Claudia told her family she would like to open up a new market in China, no one thought that would be a good idea, since they assumed China was much less developed than European countries.

However, it turns out she made a wise decision. Beijing is a dynamic city developing very fast. “Actually, it’s a more modern city than many cities in Europe already,” she told CGTN’s The Point with Liu Xin (@thepointwithlx).

As the only Swiss person in China running a wine retail chain, Claudia found a niche in the wine market immediately: Nowadays young Chinese people drink wine almost on a daily basis, and really enjoy this new lifestyle. By reaching out to the young target group, her business has grown very fast.

Now, as China moves forward with the Belt and Road Initiative, Claudia sees new opportunities. As a wine trader, Claudia imports wines from other countries into China. Currently the price per bottle is three times higher than sending it by sea fright, but this might change in the future, as she believes the Belt and Road Initiative may provide a much faster and cheaper supply chain for traders like her. “So it’s a positive project, and it’s bringing different cultures closer,” she said.

There are challenges too in the Chinese market, one of which is the social media boom. “It’s restructuring the society, so you have to rethink the strategy every six months,” Claudia admitted.

Copycats are another problem, but she is learning to see it as a compliment -- people only copy from the best.

Now after nine years of innovative marketing in China, Claudia owns 42 stores nationwide with 20 in Beijing. A pretty impressive achievement, but still a long way to go before approaching her ultimate goal: opening 888 stores in China.