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Although the cognac market in China remains weak due to the ongoing austerity campaign, LVMH-owned Hennessy chose China's southern city Guangzhou as the first stop of a global tour to celebrate its 250th anniversary, hoping to tap into the country's expanding middle class.

Bernard Peillon, chairman and CEO of Hennessy, told China Daily that he believes the Chinese market is transforming and entering a stage of maturity similar to what the US experienced years ago.

The dynamic sales of Hennessy's VSOP and Classivm－a brand designed for Chinese market only four years ago to cater to young people－gives him confidence of a "bullish" future.

"I'm quite confident our sales will grow this year. The question mark is which part of Hennessy is growing faster," Peillon said.

Since the government launched its anti-corruption crackdown three years ago, sales of cognac brands have mired in slowdown or even decline, including Remy Martin and Martell, which used to benefit from their prestigious image.

Hennessy has also been affected by the crackdown. But their portfolio of products, especially VSOP and Classivm, makes the company optimistic about its future in the Chinese market.

Peillon said the average age of their cognac drinkers is younger than it was 15 years ago, and today many people in their 30s enjoy going out to trendy bars. Their market is becoming bigger due to the expansion of the middle class, many of whom are well educated and well paid.

All brands will benefit from the expansion of the global middle class, but the broader base of Chinese drinkers offers a very promising market, Peillon added.

"China is the No 1 market across our global business in value," said Peillon, who refuses to provide concrete figures.

To signify the importance of the Chinese market, Hennessy held a celebration activity in March in Guangdong, Guangzhou province, to kick off its global tour marking the brand's 250th anniversary. The celebration included an art show that invited top artists to demonstrate the history of Hennessy and an official release of its 250 Collector's Blend, which costs about $600 per liter.

Hennessy will hold similar celebrations in Moscow, New York, Johannesburg and Paris.

China's booming e-commerce sector and growing number of people making purchases on their mobile devices also provide an opportunity for Hennessy to increase their presence in the country. Hennessy has cooperated with Jingdong, a major Chinese online retailer, to make its products widely accessible.

"I'm surprised by the speed of the increasing volume rate coming through the e-commerce channel. It increases almost every month," said Peillon.

Although Hennessy has already built distribution channels that covered about 80 cities in China, expanding deep into even some tier-four cities in offline shops, the significant number of Hennessy products sold online makes the luxury wine brand to think seriously about its involvement in the e-commerce era..

"We're targeting the thumb generation. We need to be part of the e-commerce business. But how far, how big we're still not sure, " Peillon said.

Hennessy has also become an investor in China's alcohol market. In 2011 it invested in a sparkling wine vineyard under the brand of Chandon in Ningxia in 2011. Two years later, it bought a vineyard in Shangri-la, Yunnan province. It also stepped into the popular baijiu market by buying Wenjun, a Sichuan-based baijiu company.

Peillon just tasted the very first sparkling wine produced in their Chinese vineyard a few weeks ago and was impressed.

"We believe we can expand our portfolio ... through such kind of initiatives. Hennessy is going to keep growing in China," he said.