From State-owned Company Executive to Wine Retailer: Leon Liang’s Journey

Leon Liang was once a VP-level manager at a state-owned company, often referred to as an “iron rice bowl”— a Chinese slang term for a permanent job with guaranteed security. He lived a life that many would envy, marked by stability, prestige, and even a side gig as a karate coach. However, beneath the facade of this conventional success lay a passion that would change everything. 

In 2015, driven by his new found obsession with wine and a sharp tongue for taste, he went on to win several blind tasting competitions, including the third China Blind Tasting Competition. Liang made the bold decision to give up his “iron rice bowl” and embark on a new journey in wine education and retailing.

It was a golden era for wine in China. Following a surge in wine imports in the early 2000s, China emerged as a lucrative market for global fine wines. By 2015, when Liang fully committed to the wine business, China had become the fifth-largest wine-consuming country, with total consumption reaching 16 million hectoliters, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).

However, this prosperous period was short-lived. After the peak of 2017, China’s wine market began to decline. It was then exacerbated by the pandemic and a slowing economy that posed significant challenges for Liang’s business and prompted strategic shifts. Sannianjian (叁年间) originally set up as a wine bar had to pivot in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce costs. Its name, which literally means “during the three years,” now represents a chain of retail wine stores featuring wine selections curated by Liang, a wine lecturer with a WSET Diploma.

Despite these difficulties, Liang has no regrets about his decision, and his business continues to expand. Shortly after opening his fourth branch in Chongqing—the first outside Shanghai—in mid-November, Liang is preparing to launch the fifth branch of Sannianjian in Shanghai. In less than 10 years, Sannianjian has come to become a haven for wine enthusiasts. Its allure to wine lovers is akin to a sacred pilgrimage, drawing devoted enthusiasts in search of not just exceptional wine, but a profound connection to the craftsmanship, culture, and community that define the experience.

We spoke with Liang and listened to his inspiring life story.

How It All Started 

When Liang graduated from the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics in the early 2000s, he received job offers from a state-owned trading company and a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Shui On Group. Valuing the good reputation of a state-owned company, he chose the former and embarked on a smooth career path. “My promotion was always faster than that of my peers,” he recalled.

It was a job that his mother took pride in, and through it, he began to explore the world of wine. Working in the clothing trade with Italians, he frequently traveled to Italy on business trips, where he had the opportunity to drink wine and visit wine regions. To communicate more effectively with his Italian trading partners, he researched wine and developed a genuine interest in it.

It took Liang only ten years to be promoted to VP-level manager. When his workload was reduced, it gave him some spare time to explore the wine industry. During this period, he observed that the wine business in China was thriving while his clothing business was in decline.

By that time, Liang had also won several championships in blind tasting, including the Aussino Wine Connoisseur Blind Tasting Competition in 2014 and the third China Blind Tasting Competition in 2015. To capitalize on his achievements at the right moment, Liang decided to resign from his “iron rice bowl” by the end of 2015, forgoing his year-end bonus.

“I know the timing of my resignation coincided with the peak for wine sales,” Liang explained. “If I had to do it again, I would make the same decision.”

Apart from retailing, Liang is also a wine educator with organizations such as Grapea (归普). However, he does not plan to integrate wine education into the daily operations of Sannianjian. “As a retailer, we should focus on retailing; we cannot conduct education effectively,” Liang said, “Our duty is to promote the right wines to the right customers and enable them to purchase what they like at reasonable prices.”

Sannianjian promotes wine in a sales-oriented approach by organizing wine events and inviting interested consumers to attend. Tickets are also sold to the public, with a portion of the ticket fee serving as a voucher for wine purchases. “Our goal is to encourage wine consumption rather than establish a knowledge system,” Liang explains the difference between educational popularization and a sales-oriented approach. 

From Bar To Curated Shop

In 2022 spring, in response to COVID-19, Shanghai underwent a two-month lockdown that was lifted on June 1. During this time, residents were not allowed to leave their homes and had food and daily necessities delivered by government-appointed personnel. The catering business in the city was severely impacted. During this challenging period, Liang began to consider the transformation of Sannianjian.

“There wasn’t a single guest, yet I had to spend at least RMB 10,000 (around US$ 1379.88) every day to keep the bar running. I had to rethink how to cover those costs,” Liang recalled. “Survival became our primary concern.”

Liang faced two choices: shut down the wine business or scale it down, and he chose the latter. Converting a wine bar into a retail store meant operating from a smaller location with fewer employees and accepting a lower gross profit margin due to reduced prices.

As a wine bar, like many restaurants and bars, Sannianjian sold wines at prices slightly more than double their wholesale price; now, as a retail shop, the gross profit margin has dropped to only 30% to 35%. Each shop requires just one staff member, compared to the 8 to 10 needed for a wine bar. Liang traded profit margin for sales volume. As a result,the three shops in Shanghai totally sold 4,000 to 5,000 bottles per month, while the peak monthly sales for a wine bar reached only 1,000 bottles.

Currently, Sannianjian is positioned as a boutique store, offering wines priced from RMB 150 (US$ 20.70) to nearly RMB 10,000, with a curated selection of 150 to 250 wines per shop. It also provides a more affordable online purchase option, featuring a set of five bottles priced at RMB 599, with around 150 sets sold each month. This budget-friendly wine package was introduced during the lockdown period when dine-in services were halted.

Liang showcases his deep understanding of wine in every selection he offers. For each bottle, he attaches a handwritten note that goes beyond simple tasting descriptions; it highlights the most interesting aspects of the wine as identified by Liang.

“For example, I may mention that a wine is Ren Zhengfei’s favorite, the boss of Huawei,” Liang said, “or that it’s a village-level wine with 20% of its content sourced from a Premier Cru.”

Liang adapted his style of recommendation notes to fit the Chinese context, rather than following conventional tasting notes based on Western eating habits, which his clients may not be familiar with. “For example, if I describe a wine as having a black currant flavor, many people may not have even tried black currant,” he explains. “When we introduce wine in China, we have to localize it.”

From Liang’s perspective, it is crucial to provide consumers with the products they desire at high quality and reasonable prices rather than spending excessive time pandering to customers. He keeps track of the preferences of regular customers and offers tailored recommendations based on their purchasing frequency.

Offering exclusive products is another strategy employed by Liang, as he purchases the last batch of selected wines from distributors in Shanghai. For example, he acquired the remaining 400 bottles of Brokenwood Semillon, the most renowned Semillon from Australia, and sold out within two months.

The selling strategy of Sannianjian represents a significant shift for wine enthusiasts in China, moving from a focus on well-known brands to an appreciation for individuality and unique tastes in wine consumption. “Tailored and niche products are more readily accepted by consumers today,” Liang said.

About the Future

Consumption downgrading is a significant trend in China, and the wine business cannot escape it. Liang has found it increasingly difficult to recruit participants for expensive wine events priced around one thousand US dollars, as consumers are now seeking better experiences for the same price.

Despite the slowing economy, Shanghai—being a first-tier city with the best-developed wine market in mainland China—still has a group of consumers willing to spend on fine wines. “Many friends have told me that they can maintain the same level of consumption but expect a better experience, including higher-quality wine and more in-depth knowledge,” Liang said.

“Amid the general trend of consumption downgrading, my focus needs to be on the small group of wine drinkers who frequently attend wine events,” Liang continued.

Targeting fine wine consumers, Sannianjian hosts wine tastings at least once a week as a primary promotional activity and offers discounts on purchases made during these events. Due to Sannianjian’s popularity and Liang’s reputation among wine enthusiasts in Shanghai, importers and distributors often supply wines for these activities. “Even if the attendees don’t buy on the day, at least I will plant a seed in their hearts,” Liang said, describing the role of wine-tasting events in promoting sales both directly and indirectly.

When we asked Liang to share a message with the younger generation interested in the wine industry, he encouraged them to give it a try, even if wine may not be their lifelong career: “At least you will meet some people who are passionate about life through wine and learn how certain things align with nature in the world of wine.”

However, Liang offered a word of caution for those chasing wealth. “If you want to earn lots of money in the wine industry, I suggest you look for another path,” Liang continued. “Wine is a slow-moving industry, and its upstream relies on an agricultural foundation. I don’t believe it’s an industry where you can easily make a significant profit.”

“If you love wine, don’t doubt your passion—give it a try. However, if you’re drawn to the industry by the glamorous notion that joining a group of people drinking expensive wines will make you wealthy, then don’t enter; that’s not the reality,” he concluded.