Dear Client:Growth of domestic wines continued to outpace imports in the four weeks to March 7 compared to the same period last year, according to Nielsen scan data. In dollar sales, domestic table wines grew 6.7% to over $450m, while imports grew 3% to just under $185m. Imported table wines lost almost a full market … Continue reading “Value Wines and Domestics Lead in Feb”

Dear Client:In the third quarter of its 2008-2009 fiscal year (July 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009), Pernod said de-stocking in the United States and globally hurt the company, causing revenues to decline -2%. Last week Pernod lowered its EBIT to between 3-5% from 5-8% as a result, showing that the environment proved tougher than … Continue reading “Pernod Plans to Sell More Brands”

Dear Client:Dollar sales of spirits jumped 4.2% in the four weeks to March 7 and case sales grew 3.3%, according to food, drug and liquor store scan data from Nielsen. This is a big improvement from February, where dollar sales grew only 1.8% and volumes climbed 0.9%.VALUE SPIRITS LEAD IN GROWTH. Value priced spirits took … Continue reading “Spirits See Improvement in February”

Dear Client:Last week we asked readers if Campari could grow Wild Turkey in the Northeast and California, pushing the brand beyond its traditional following in the South. Respondents were unanimous in singing the praises of Wild Turkey, and here are a few email snippets: “I always thought Jimmy Russell’s firepower was never shown up here … Continue reading “High Hopes for Wild Turkey”

Dear Client:Yesterday Diageo was hit by rumors that a deal with Brown-Forman or a brewer were in the works causing stocks to slide 2% on the London Stock Exchange, reports the London Financial Times. Rumors swirled among analysts that Diageo might form a “friendly” deal with B-F or consider buying a brew. Controlling shareholders are … Continue reading “Diageo Hit with Rumors”

Dear Client:“Simplify” was the theme at Constellation’s fiscal year earnings conference call today where it listed a number of initiatives continuing into fiscal 2010 and beyond. The company plans on the following: moving to one distributor house per market; laying off 5% of its workforce; and consolidating its wine and spirits businesses into one operation.Constellation’s … Continue reading “WSD: Constellation Consolidating Distributor Network”

Dear Client:The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Pernod Ricard is close to striking a deal to sell Wild Turkey bourbon to Gruppo Campari for $575 million, according to sources. Rumors have swirled for months that Wild Turkey was on the market and the official announcement could be made as early as tomorrow, says WSJ. … Continue reading “Alert: Pernod Close to Selling Wild Turkey”

Dear Client:Pernod Ricard announced five new c-level appoints today, effective July 1 2009. Philippe Dréano, currently chairman and chief of the company’s Asian unit will now run Pernod Ricard Americas. Recall that Alain Barbet most recently headed the Americas (effective July 2008) but left the company at the end of last year. No official reason … Continue reading “Pernod Names Replacement for Americas Unit”

Dear Client:A new study from Datamonitor shows that an increasingly large “senior” population is “worth targeting” because they are willing to spend their money on products they perceive as value-added. According to the study, the greatest proportional growth in senior (50+) population is expected to occur in the United States. The over-50s accounted for over … Continue reading “Growing Senior Demographic “Worth Targeting””

Dear Client:Pernod Ricard has appointed Gilles Bogaert to replace Emmanuel Babeau as the new Deputy Managing Director in charge of Finance, effective July 1. Pernod said Emmanuel “decided to leave the Group” and no other explanation was given. Gilles currently serves as the chairman and ceo of Pernod Ricard Brazil and has also held a … Continue reading “Pernod Appoints New Finance Director”

Dear Client:Beam Global’s Sauza Tequila is taking advantage of the surge in growth for boxed wine with its new Sauza Margarita-in-a-Box. According to the company, it’s the first boxed margarita cocktail made with real tequila to hit the market. The recipe includes lime juice, Sauza, triple sec and margarita mix. Beam says the compact Margarita-in-a-Box … Continue reading “Beam Global Taps Into Home Consumption Trends”

Dear Client:New consumer insights from the people at Pointer Media Network (a division of Catalina Marketing, the coupon people) finds that a small group of 7.5 million wine drinkers drive 80% of the category’s volume in the United States, indicating that the “targeted” wine consumer may be more concentrated than you think. Pointer Media Network … Continue reading “7.5 Million Constitute Core Wine Drinkers”

Dear Client:IRI has released its annual report on the top 30 brand performers in table wine based on scanner data from grocery and drugstores. In the 52 weeks to January 4, E&J Gallo topped the charts with the top 3 brands on the list, as well as 4 others. Constellation Wines also had 4 brands … Continue reading “E&J Gallo Tops Brand Performers List”

Dear Client:WINE IN GROCERY STORES. One of the biggest issues the wine industry has faced in recent months is legislation that could allow the sale of wine in grocery stores. Liquor stores are against it and grocery stores are for it. Officials in New York, Tennessee and Kentucky all have proposed plans to allow wine … Continue reading “A Recap on State Laws, Legislation and Rulings”

Dear Client:Michael Mondavi and Maurice Kanbar have made capital investments in Partida Tequila and also joined the board of directors, the company said today. Terms of the investments were not disclosed. Michael Mondavi – who co-founded the Robert Mondavi Winery with his father and recently founded Folio Fine Wine Partners – said in a statement … Continue reading “Michael Mondavi and Maurice Kanbar Invest in Partida Tequila”