Selling $10 wine for $100?
Wine hawkers in mall carparks
They pitch their wares as free or going cheap, then ask for a 'donation'
By Diana Othman and Esther Tan & Kimberly Spykerman
Women wine sellers are targeting lone motorists in carparks with offers of 'great deals' on wine, or even 'free wine', for which they ask a token sum of up to $100 per bottle. Two such bottles were assessed by experts and are reviewed below. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
OVER the past three months, lone motorists in malls and office carparks are finding themselves pounced upon by wine sellers.
Think of scantily-clad women who hawk certain types of liquor in night spots and picture the same scene in a carpark.
Worth $150 each?
SANTA LORETO MERLOT, CHILE, 2007
The wine 'cellar' is in the boot of a sleek car. The peddlers are women in their 20s who work in pairs or groups of three. One would be the driver circling the area spotting lone men making their way to parked cars, even blocking the vehicles to make sure that the motorists do not get away.
The others would be out in a jiffy to make their sales pitch, except that they usually pitch their wine booty as free giveaways or going on the cheap.
They spin tales of quarrels with chefs from fancy restaurants and hotels such as The Fullerton and Swissotel. Because of these disputes, they have to find other means of selling the wine or in some cases, they say, it is their way of getting back at the unreasonable chefs.
Anyone who buys their story would be asked for sums ranging from $30 to $100, for wine that the women indicate is worth $500 or more. Deal sealed, a receipt is made out to the buyer and the women move on to their next catch.
They have been hired by Dickson Enterprise, a company which started selling liquor and soft drinks last September.
Their favourite haunts include Paragon Shopping Mall, Ngee Ann City, Suntec City, UOB Plaza and UIC building. They sometimes also trawl the heartland malls such as Northpoint in Yishun and have also been spotted at St James PowerHouse.
Graphic designer Carol Lee, 24, was at the Paragon carpark last month when she was approached by a woman who told her she had had a huge row with a chef and wanted to give away the wine to spite him.
She led Miss Lee to a car and showed her several bottles inside the boot. After placing two bottles on Miss Lee's car seat, she asked her for any sum ranging from $50 to $100 for each bottle as a token of 'appreciation'.
When Miss Lee said she had only $30 on her, the woman took back one bottle.
Looking back, Miss Lee felt the woman had 'manipulated' her into feeling guilty for taking something 'expensive' for free. 'I don't even dare drink the wine now and I'm going to throw the bottle away. Who knows what kind of drink it actually is.'
The women's sales tactics have made it onto Internet forums, with netizens warning one another not to fall for them.
The women did not seem to have an easy time getting buyers, as The Straits Times observed over several days.
They start off just before noon from their office at Lorong Ampas in Balestier and usually hit about five shopping malls before calling it a day by 8pm. On average, only one out of 10 shoppers they approach buy the wines.
The owner of Dickson Enterprise, Mr Victor Toh, 36, said he used to sell home theatre systems under the same company name, which was first registered in 2002.
But after receiving negative feedback from people saying they did not like being approached by his salesmen in the streets, he changed tack.
Last September, Mr Toh re-started the company, this time selling mainly Chilean, Spanish and French red wines. 'I'm new in the market and I don't have the cash to jump in big time. We can't afford a booth or a shop front, so we go direct to the consumer now,' explained Mr Toh.
The company sells over 500 bottles of wine a month now, he added.
When asked about his employees' sales tactics, Mr Toh said he had received a few complaints last October.
He said his staff had been instructed to tell such tales by their trainer, whom he has since fired. 'I told them not to use such stories anymore,' he said, adding that his employees were always polite and customer-oriented.
'My girls have been briefed to give good service to the customer. I told them to provide their names and handphone numbers too,' he said.
He told The Straits Times that unsatisfied customers are entitled to a full refund or a free replacement. 'If there're any problems, the customer can always contact us. We're not doing a hit-and-run business.'
No one has called them for a refund in five months, he said.
Sales have picked up during the festive period, Mr Toh added, and he was getting good feedback from customers. He said some of them have placed orders for wine hampers worth about $500.
'Sales are picking up, so it can't be that my girls are still using the same tactics which made customers unhappy.'
Mr Toh insisted that his employees do not tout. 'I told my girls...when customers want to listen, you talk to them. If they don't want to, you walk away.'
However, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises Lawrence Leow said such sales tactics were 'absolutely wrong'.
'It's misrepresentation. The value of the goods is not worth that much and yet they are asking for a premium.'
He added that consumers should stand firm and just say no. 'You shouldn't just purchase the goods...you never know if it could be expired or of inferior quality.'
The presence of the wine sales team in carparks is making mall managements sit up.
Shoppers and tenants at Paragon Shopping Centre complained to the management about the women two weeks ago, said the mall's spokesman.
She said that Dickson Enterprise was not allowed to sell any products on its premises, including the carpark, as it had not approached the management for permission to do so. Its security officers have been told to watch out for cars that appear to be circling one too many times.
Ngee Ann City's management was unaware of the women, but said they would put a stop to it immediately.
Mr Toh said a few shopping malls had told his employees they could not hawk wines on the premises and they have stopped going to these places.
Some of the Internet chatter in forums has also raised doubts about whether the wines were really worth that much.
The Straits Times bought two bottles - which the women claimed could fetch about $150 each if sold to restaurants - and got four wine experts to try them.
The Merlot, they said, had a retail price of only $20 or less. The other bottle, which sounds like it is from Valencia in Spain but has German words on the label, would sell for about $12 at best.
Fine wine distributor Patricia Britton, 39, said: 'There's not a chance that these wines are worth $500!'
She said it was 'quite likely' the wine had been artificially sweetened. 'The sweetness is not the natural fruitiness of a grape, even if it was an over-ripe one.'
Mr Toh, though, put it down to a matter of opinion. 'It's a matter of individual taste.'
Wine hawkers in mall carparks
They pitch their wares as free or going cheap, then ask for a 'donation'
By Diana Othman and Esther Tan & Kimberly Spykerman
Women wine sellers are targeting lone motorists in carparks with offers of 'great deals' on wine, or even 'free wine', for which they ask a token sum of up to $100 per bottle. Two such bottles were assessed by experts and are reviewed below. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
OVER the past three months, lone motorists in malls and office carparks are finding themselves pounced upon by wine sellers.
Think of scantily-clad women who hawk certain types of liquor in night spots and picture the same scene in a carpark.
Worth $150 each?
SANTA LORETO MERLOT, CHILE, 2007
The wine 'cellar' is in the boot of a sleek car. The peddlers are women in their 20s who work in pairs or groups of three. One would be the driver circling the area spotting lone men making their way to parked cars, even blocking the vehicles to make sure that the motorists do not get away.
The others would be out in a jiffy to make their sales pitch, except that they usually pitch their wine booty as free giveaways or going on the cheap.
They spin tales of quarrels with chefs from fancy restaurants and hotels such as The Fullerton and Swissotel. Because of these disputes, they have to find other means of selling the wine or in some cases, they say, it is their way of getting back at the unreasonable chefs.
Anyone who buys their story would be asked for sums ranging from $30 to $100, for wine that the women indicate is worth $500 or more. Deal sealed, a receipt is made out to the buyer and the women move on to their next catch.
They have been hired by Dickson Enterprise, a company which started selling liquor and soft drinks last September.
Their favourite haunts include Paragon Shopping Mall, Ngee Ann City, Suntec City, UOB Plaza and UIC building. They sometimes also trawl the heartland malls such as Northpoint in Yishun and have also been spotted at St James PowerHouse.
Graphic designer Carol Lee, 24, was at the Paragon carpark last month when she was approached by a woman who told her she had had a huge row with a chef and wanted to give away the wine to spite him.
She led Miss Lee to a car and showed her several bottles inside the boot. After placing two bottles on Miss Lee's car seat, she asked her for any sum ranging from $50 to $100 for each bottle as a token of 'appreciation'.
When Miss Lee said she had only $30 on her, the woman took back one bottle.
Looking back, Miss Lee felt the woman had 'manipulated' her into feeling guilty for taking something 'expensive' for free. 'I don't even dare drink the wine now and I'm going to throw the bottle away. Who knows what kind of drink it actually is.'
The women's sales tactics have made it onto Internet forums, with netizens warning one another not to fall for them.
The women did not seem to have an easy time getting buyers, as The Straits Times observed over several days.
They start off just before noon from their office at Lorong Ampas in Balestier and usually hit about five shopping malls before calling it a day by 8pm. On average, only one out of 10 shoppers they approach buy the wines.
The owner of Dickson Enterprise, Mr Victor Toh, 36, said he used to sell home theatre systems under the same company name, which was first registered in 2002.
But after receiving negative feedback from people saying they did not like being approached by his salesmen in the streets, he changed tack.
Last September, Mr Toh re-started the company, this time selling mainly Chilean, Spanish and French red wines. 'I'm new in the market and I don't have the cash to jump in big time. We can't afford a booth or a shop front, so we go direct to the consumer now,' explained Mr Toh.
The company sells over 500 bottles of wine a month now, he added.
When asked about his employees' sales tactics, Mr Toh said he had received a few complaints last October.
He said his staff had been instructed to tell such tales by their trainer, whom he has since fired. 'I told them not to use such stories anymore,' he said, adding that his employees were always polite and customer-oriented.
'My girls have been briefed to give good service to the customer. I told them to provide their names and handphone numbers too,' he said.
He told The Straits Times that unsatisfied customers are entitled to a full refund or a free replacement. 'If there're any problems, the customer can always contact us. We're not doing a hit-and-run business.'
No one has called them for a refund in five months, he said.
Sales have picked up during the festive period, Mr Toh added, and he was getting good feedback from customers. He said some of them have placed orders for wine hampers worth about $500.
'Sales are picking up, so it can't be that my girls are still using the same tactics which made customers unhappy.'
Mr Toh insisted that his employees do not tout. 'I told my girls...when customers want to listen, you talk to them. If they don't want to, you walk away.'
However, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises Lawrence Leow said such sales tactics were 'absolutely wrong'.
'It's misrepresentation. The value of the goods is not worth that much and yet they are asking for a premium.'
He added that consumers should stand firm and just say no. 'You shouldn't just purchase the goods...you never know if it could be expired or of inferior quality.'
The presence of the wine sales team in carparks is making mall managements sit up.
Shoppers and tenants at Paragon Shopping Centre complained to the management about the women two weeks ago, said the mall's spokesman.
She said that Dickson Enterprise was not allowed to sell any products on its premises, including the carpark, as it had not approached the management for permission to do so. Its security officers have been told to watch out for cars that appear to be circling one too many times.
Ngee Ann City's management was unaware of the women, but said they would put a stop to it immediately.
Mr Toh said a few shopping malls had told his employees they could not hawk wines on the premises and they have stopped going to these places.
Some of the Internet chatter in forums has also raised doubts about whether the wines were really worth that much.
The Straits Times bought two bottles - which the women claimed could fetch about $150 each if sold to restaurants - and got four wine experts to try them.
The Merlot, they said, had a retail price of only $20 or less. The other bottle, which sounds like it is from Valencia in Spain but has German words on the label, would sell for about $12 at best.
Fine wine distributor Patricia Britton, 39, said: 'There's not a chance that these wines are worth $500!'
She said it was 'quite likely' the wine had been artificially sweetened. 'The sweetness is not the natural fruitiness of a grape, even if it was an over-ripe one.'
Mr Toh, though, put it down to a matter of opinion. 'It's a matter of individual taste.'
Last edited:
