A cheerful idea that was conceived in ashes

Swiss Night with fondue & raclette in Cheers Chengdu

In the event, the fire put Masueger out of business for several months as she awaited the arrival of new products, and it was in this time, she says, that she could reflect on the business.

At that time, in 2010 and 2011, younger people were ademographic largely overlooked by the wine industry in China, she says, a huge proportion of deals being the result of bulk buying by government departments and organizations.

"I always felt that the wine business was full of snobs. The wines were so overpriced and unfair, and I wanted to bring fairly price wines direct to consumers. I also wanted to make wine-drinking fun. In the business-to-business trade, I realized I was not happy. I twas full of ganbei wines."

With that, Cheers was born in April 2011 and has become one of the most recognizable wine shop chains in China, with 30 outlets nationwide, and an annual sales volume of 500,000 bottles.

Cheers eschews the fancy decor and presentation such as dim lighting and reproductions of antiques often seen in wine bars and wine shops, and the stuffiness of many wine showrooms. Instead the emphasis is on colorful, simple venues with affordable wine for young buyers in particular. The company motto, "Cheers makes you smile", dovetails with its logo, a warm smile formed with two wine glasses.

"We were successful at the beginning though the whole wine industry was laughing about us at that time," says Masueger, who is the company's chief executive.

When the Chinese government's anti-corruption campaign swung into action in late 2012 the business-to-business trade collapsed, industry players scrambled to find new ideas and they ended up concentrating on a business-to-consumer model. However, Masueger says, Cheers had essentially stolen a march on its rivals, because it already had consumers at the heart of its marketing strategy so was relatively unscathed by the austerity drive.