A maturing, booming economy and an increasing taste for the finer things in life have fuelled a steady growth in local wine consumption. Yet, while wine retailing has a long history in Europe and in other historical wine-producing regions, the industry is a relative newcomer to Hong Kong. Watson's Wine Cellar opened its first store in 1998. The company now employs 83 staff and operates 13 stores across the city.
How has this fledgling wine retailer coped with such a rapid rise, and how do local employees manage with what was, until recently, regarded as a rich man's habit? A good part of the answer, it seems, lies in staff training.
'We feel that training is more important than anything else - both as a service to customers and for commercial reasons. Certainly if our staff are knowledgeable about wine they are better equipped to sell it, and our sales performance down the years proves that point,' said James Hepple, retail manager of Watson's Wine Cellar. 'What sets us apart is the level of product training which our employees receive - in fact I'm not aware of any other wine retailer in the world that has the majority of its staff taking Wine and Spirit Education Trust [WSET] courses at any one time,' he said.
WSET is a British-based education institution which specialises in the wine industry. Accredited WSET tutors run courses in Britain and globally. Watson's staff receive the majority of their training in Hong Kong.
'All of our staff begin their WSET training at the intermediate level, having already learned the basic skills with us during their three-month probationary period,' said Mr Hepple. In fact, since 2004, 76 Watson's staff have sat for the WSET intermediate certificate in wines and spirits, with 27 having undertaken the advanced level.
During the course staff learn about the various wine producing regions of the world, wine tasting and how to judge the quality of wines and which ones are suitable for certain types of food. In this way they are better equipped to deal with customer questions and make recommendations. Over the past two years the company has also arranged two trips for selected staff to go to Australia and visit some famous vineyards and wine-growing regions, such as Margaret River. Next year the company might go to French vineyards.
