The Newcomers

06 September 2005 By db staff writer

“standfirst”>Representatives of four Côte du Rhône appellations recently met with prominent members of the UK wine trade to discuss the most effective ways to achieve listings, Charlotte Hey reports

Breaking into the UK market is always a challenge. Especially in a wine market that is dominated by multinationals and brands that have the budget to throw at establishing themselves on shelf. But what if you are a smaller, lesser known region? What if you don’t have the budget? Or, indeed, much insight into how the UK market works? These were some of the questions posed to a group of UK wine trade experts last month by the drinks business and the organisers of the Rhône Valley Vineyards – The Newcomers campaign in a bid to find out more about the challenges facing regions like Coteaux du Tricastin, Côtes du Ventoux, Costières de Nîmes and Côtes du Luberon when looking to get a listing in the UK market.

The overall challenges facing all exporters in the market were quick to come to the surface as Helen McGinn, PR and marketing manager, McGuigan Simeon UK pointed out, “In my opinion the key challenges right now are consolidation in the market both of retailer and supplier, followed by the global oversupply of wine and, lastly, the economic challenges. By which I mean that companies in general are much more cautious these days when it comes to expanding wine ranges.” She added, “Wines on shelf have to work much harder and the space has to work much harder in any retailing format and in order to do that I think the level of churn has slowed down.”

“Consolidation means that there is less chance to get on shelf,” continued James Griswood, buyer, at The Thresher Group. “There are probably only eight or nine different people in the UK off-trade now who can get a new supplier on shelf. When you consider that there are probably around 20,000 producers in France alone potentially trying to speak to that number of buyers it makes it very difficult to get through.”

Global market challenges aside, the group turned it’s attention to those key factors that every new supplier to the market should consider before picking up the phone and calling the buyer.

Griswood expanded, “You simply have to go back to basics. So many producers contact me throughout the year and it is patently obvious that they have no idea about what I might be looking for. They have to think about what the volumes are that they are producing, where they want their product to sit in the market, how should it look, how should it be labelled. Producers need to ask themselves all these questions.”

Research is key

From McGinn’s point of view the great difference between retailers and producers comes down to research. “How the larger retailer has evolved in this market,” she said, “has been driven by how consumers buy wines. There is very little, however, about how wine is produced that has been driven by research about how people drink it. In fact it is the reverse. Smaller wineries may not have the resources to commission their own research but there’s plenty out there which can give you a lot of insight.” But retail is not the only route to market and increasingly, as with The Newcomers campaign, brands and generic bodies, are directing their producers to niche, more specialist outlets. Brice Eymard, export manager, Inter-Rhône, said, “For regions like the four involved in this campaign [Coteaux du Tricastin, Côtes du Ventoux, Costières de Nîmes and Côtes du Luberon] it is important that they look to the independent retail sector and the on-trade. These wines are not necessarily all destined for supermarket shelves, although some of our producers definitely have this capacity; the 282 private cellars we represent need to focus their efforts in a specialist environment.”

Morfudd Richards, proprietor of Lola’s Restaurant agreed: “While it is important not to have some well-known wines on a restaurant list it is less important than in an off-trade environment. In the on-trade it is all about where a wine sits within the style of the wine list, whether it’s price or style. You can sell anything you want to in this environment, because all is based around hands-on selling which is difficult in retail.” According to Rod Smith, French wine manager, Mentzendorff, “It is easier in the on-trade to get pull-through of a brand because, quite simply, there are 10,000 buyers as opposed to eight. You can talk to them and you don’t have to go straight down the route of discounting and huge volumes.” However, you have to be careful as getting wine into the on-trade very much depends on which sector you are wanting to approach. “If you go into a pub then you’ll see Hardys and Blossom Hill,” said James Griswood. “However, if you go to a restaurant then you are going to get wines that are not so widely available.” Richards added, “I think one tends to avoid the big brands in a restaurant because there is the price point issue of people seeing the price of a wine in the shops, but also you are deemed to be lazy if you put a wine brand on a list. I’m not saying that it needs to be boutique or expensive. There has to be a sense of it being something you have found, giving the customer a feeling that you have really worked on your wine list.” Know your market But it seems, according to our panel, that consumer understanding within any market is paramount for any newcomers wanting to get that all-important listing, especially when it comes to design. “In a retail environment the most important factor is the visual aesthetics of a label,” said Smith, “and how a consumer can pick out something to catch their attention, whether it’s the grape variety or the name of the domaine or the château, which then takes you further down the path to buying the wine. “You need to understand the market that you are going into; producers have the tendency to only think of the wine they are producing and not the wines that are going to be sitting around them on the shelf – you have to know your market.” But from a producer’s point of view, according to Brice Eymard, “The problem that we find as producers is that everyone expects the typical traditional label from France and they find it boring. As a result many producers in our region are now looking to develop newer, more fashionable labels with an up-to-date theme, which often means removing the châteaux or domaine cues, in order to create something different and fun.” “But the problem then,” said Smith, “is that the wine with a more modern label does not fulfill expectations. People would say, ‘That’s not very French’, but they would mean it pejoratively, not positively. Changing the label or making wines look like they come from Australia is not a panacea, because if you succeed then the whole offer for France has been diluted by everyone.” Modern and fun or traditional and classic, for James Griswood, “What it still boils down to is creating buying cues and fulfilling those buying expectations. Delivering a clear message is key.” The panel were all in agreement that success in the UK market for any product is based on a consistent clear message that responds to market needs. Not rocket science, but proof that The Rhône Valley Vineyards – The Newcomers campaign has very real potential. db THE FANTASTIC FOUR “For me, this region, these four appellations, have one of the best opportunities in France. There are so many different styles of wine from nice, juicy Grenache towards a more Syrah style. The wines are great value and there is the diversity there in terms of top-end versus a value for money volume offering,” says James Griswood, The Thresher Group. Rhône Valley Vineyards – The Newcomers represents four appellations (Coteaux du Tricastin, Côtes du Ventoux, Costières de Nîmes and Côtes du Luberon) at the heart of an outstanding wine region. Red wine production dominates in the four regions, representing about 70% of the total, though rosé and white wines have a strong presence with the former making up over 30% of production in the Côtes du Luberon and up to 40% in the Costières de Nîmes. Syrah and Grenache are the key red varietals throughout the region. The Newcomers umbrella was established in 2001 as a promotional platform for the four appellations to pool together their resources to create a stronger unified force within the domestic and international marketplace. With the last four years the Newcomers have segmented their offering outside the Think Red, Think Côtes du Rhône Wines marketing campaign, through differentiated branding, separate communications and more recently a distinct presence within the generic CDR stands at the LIWSF and Vinexpo 2006. In 2004 sales in the UK began to stabilise after a difficult period in 2003. The UK remains an extremely important market accounting for around 8% of total exports. By combining a forward thinking approach to winemaking and packaging – without losing their own unique identity and characters – the Newcomers are well placed to continue to claw back and gain market share in 2005 and beyond. THE PANEL Clockwise from left: James Griswood, The Thresher Group; Helen McGinn, McGuigan Simeon; Rod Smith, Mentzendorff; Charlotte Hey, the drinks business (chair); Brice Eymard, Inter- Rhône; Steve Abrahams, Sopexa UK; Morfudd Richards, Lola’s Restaurant THE VENUE Lola’s Restaurant, Islington, London