13th July 2026 | Shanghai, China
WHAT WE SAW
We walked into Ole Supermarket in Xuhui and scanned the imported spirits shelf systematically. Here’s what we recorded.
1. Main Price Range
The imported spirits shelf spans ¥449.00 to ¥25,888. The floor is held by UK/Scotland and Japan — Mortlach, Macallan, Hakushu, Hibiki, and Yamazaki. The ceiling belongs to Macallan 25 YO Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This is a wide price range; however, most brands are from the same supplier.
2. Consumer-Friendly Price Ranges
Within this span, three bands emerged clearly:
- ¥100.00 – ¥300.00: Talisker, Scotland — loved by consumers who enjoy complex, strong, and spicy profiles.
- ¥301.00 – ¥500.00: Glenfiddich — the world’s number one selling single malt Scotch whisky brand, and one of the most awarded. Consumers like the name as much as the liquid.
- ¥501.00 – ¥999.99: BOWMORE — except for the Chinese name on the front label, renowned for its distinctive peaty, smoky character and briny, sea-salt notes.
Generating a USP is easy; making it memorable among consumers is the hard part.
3. What Stood Out
The ¥301.00 – ¥500.00 band is the most crowded, taking almost 48.88% of shelf facings.
4. Promotion: Yes or No
Promotional tags visible? Yes. However, only 9% of SKUs carried a discount promotion. An average 35% discount can be attractive to some consumers.
5. Tasting Offer: Yes or No
There was no tasting offer. This did not help drive consumption traffic. Only 10 people glanced at the spirits shelf within 60 minutes.
6. Shopping Guide Service
One staff member covered wine, Chinese spirits, and imported spirits — a sensible cost-control measure. However, her communication strategy started with “for gifting or for yourself?”, narrowing the consumption scenario before any brand story could be told. Still, better than no guide service at all.
7. Bundle Sales
There were no bundle sales.
8. Gift Set Offered: Yes or No
A few gift sets were offered. However, not many consumers asked about the gift set prices.
9. Shelf Positioning
There is a specific alcoholic beverage zone for all domestic and imported products. Imported spirits sit in the middle of this zone. All SKUs were categorized by category, then by price, then by region.
10. Shelf Order: Good or Messy
The shelf order is good, with clean facing and tidy rows.
11. Bottle Neck Flyer or Other POSM: Yes or No
There was not much POSM. Ole had its own unified presentation. No sales material was attached to any bottle. SKUs with promotions had only bounce cards.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR YOU
The retail price, shelf display, and supermarket location are a silent negotiation among your export price, the importer’s margin, and the consumer’s willingness to pay. Price, promotion, and positioning all matter, but POSM is the final nudge. A bottle without a neck flyer or shelf talker is asking the consumer to decide with zero information — no tasting note, no consumption suggestion, no reason to choose it over the bottle next to it. Clean presentation, good order, and a simple neck tag can be the difference between a hand reaching out and a hand walking past.
TAKEAWAY
Audit the shelf like a buyer from the target market, not a brand owner. Price range tells you where you sit. Promotion and tasting tell you whether anyone is helping you move. POSM tells you whether your brand has a voice on the shelf or is just glass among glass. Positioning, order, and cleanliness tell you whether the retailer respects your brand — or forgot it exists. All of these points together give you the evidence to have a sharper, faster, harder-to-dismiss conversation with your importer.