Artemis Wines International has launched a new service for large wine purchasing businesses such as high volume grocery stores, fine wine stores, hotels and restaurants around the world that are interested in importing wines directly from American wineries.
The new service, Artemis Direct gives wine sellers in the Asia, Europe and other major markets direct purchasing access to the largest selection of US wines without using local importers or paying high importation fees.
"Artemis Direct gives major retailers and restaurateurs in markets around the world their own buying office in the US," said creator Carl Jaeger. "We're based in the US, and we are intimately familiar with the American wine business. We offer access to a much broader range of wines, and we can get better prices by negotiating directly with wineries on behalf of Artemis Direct clients."
Customers that have already signed on with Artemis Direct include AS Watson of Hong Kong, a division of Hutchison Whampoa and one of Hong Kong's biggest wine retailers, KD Brands of the UK, a brand company servicing the retail sector, and Sigurd Müller of Denmark, an on-premise distributor/buying group which services hotels and restaurants across the country.
According to Jaeger, the key benefits of Artemis Direct for wine sellers outside the US are increased profit margins, lower cost of goods and the ability to offer a greater selection of American wines that deliver high quality at each price point. Artemis Direct also handles shipping and logistics, negotiates marketing fees from suppliers, develops promotion and feature calendars, manages and monitors inventories, helps safeguard allocations and sources highly sought after wines.
"So many retailers and restaurants around the globe are forced to pay substantial importation fees and source wines from local importers who have a limited selection," said Jaeger. "Artemis Direct cuts through the red tape and overcomes the challenges that being so far away from American wineries present."
Jaeger founded Artemis Wines International as an export company in San Francisco in 2001. He is also the founder of Scott Street Portfolio, a US importer of Australian wines, which he sold to Evans & Tate in 2002, and he is the former vice president of marketing for Southcorp Wines in the US.