Industry reflects on LIWF

Last week’s London International Wine Fair has been hailed by exhibitors and organisers as a stunning success as visitors overcame travel problems caused by the volcanic ash cloud to spend three hugely busy days at ExCeL.

The final visitor attendance figure stood at 13,693 with 3,170 (23%) of these attending from overseas. This compares to 2009 figures of 13,893 (down 1%) of which 3,133 attended from overseas (up 1%).

With a number of bigger wine companies, such as Constellation and E&J Gallo, choosing not to exhibit at this year’s fair, the door was opened for smaller producers from emerging wine-making countries such as India, Croatia and Russia to showcase their products and ramp up awareness levels among a curious audience.

“This is our first year exhibiting at the show and I’ve been seriously impressed by the footfall to and around our stand,” said Pavel Titov, owner of Russian wine producer Abrau Durso, which exhibited at LIWF for the first time this year.

“Being exposed to the right people is key and we’ve been delighted to get various regional wine merchants, industry influencers and sommeliers come by and taste through our wines. We’ve found it a very useful and productive experience and will certainly be coming back next year.”

Stanimir Stoyanov, winemaker at Bulgarian producer New Industrial Company, added: “It’s very interesting to see that LIWF is attracting all the new regions, such as India, as it keeps the show fresh and interesting to visitors.”

Plenty of business was done during the three-day extravaganza, with many wineries reporting higher sales than they achieved at last year’s event. In a non-Vinexpo year, at least in Europe, the need to do as much business as possible at the fair was perhaps higher than ever, given the problems faced by the trade over the past 18 months or so.

InterLoire reported great success on its stand, with visitor numbers far exceeding those seen in 2009.

René-Louis David, secretary general, told the drinks business: “For us it has been an excellent investment. Last year we had on average 100 visitors each day on the stand, but yesterday alone [Wednesday] we scanned 230.“

Martin Krajewski, proprietor of Chåteau de Sours, said: “LIWF really exceeded our expectations this year. Not only did we sell 500 cases of wine off stand to completely new clients but we’ve also signed up new accounts through meetings held at LIWF.

“The show has also put us in front of international buyers too who have been making genuine order enquiries – for example we are now in discussions with a USA based company, a very exciting opportunity as it’s a completely new territory for us.”

Among those to step into the void left by the likes of Constellation and Gallo was Stokes Fine Wines. Justin Liddle, sales and marketing director, told the drinks business: “We took a snap decision just one month ago to exhibit. Having read about the big branded operators pulling out we thought it was a good time to step in – we didn’t have a stand last year.

“After two years of tough trading it is important to be here, be seen and see people, rather than staying in the office.”

One slight concern expressed by exhibitors was the relative lack of representation from the restaurant and gastropub sector among attendees, particularly with wineries viewing the on-trade as a vital target for growth. Some, such as Marqués de Cåceres PR director Anne Vallejo, put this down to the location of the fair.

She said: “I noticed that there were not as many people from the restaurant and gastropub sector as there used to be when the show was at Olympia and I think that’s because ExCeL is just too far away.”

Distil, the spirits fair, might have been lacking the presence of big players such as Diageo and Whyte & Mackay, but those smaller companies who did exhibit benefited from increased exposure and greater interest among visitors who might otherwise have been inclined to stick with what they already knew and trusted.

Duncan Hayter, of Global Premium Brands, said: “Distil has been a fantastic experience for us as a new brand.

“The quality of the people here who have come to see us has been very high and their reaction to Gin Mare has been fantastic – for me the combination of both high quality and quantity has been the perfect platform to launch a new brand. We are delighted with the results.”

Summing up after the 30th anniversary LIWF packed away for another year, event director James Murray spoke of his pride at how the fair has been used as a platform for the wine industry to demonstrate its resilience and dynamism.

“The LIWF’s anniversary year has seen extremely positive feedback from across the board, and it has been so pleasing to see the wine trade getting back on its feet after a difficult 18 months,” he said.

“It’s extraordinary to have welcomed more international visitors this year, despite the travel problems that many experienced, and our UK audience has remained very solid in the face of a shrinking market and declining numbers of retailers.

“Throughout the three days, exhibitors have reported an impressive attendance from key individuals from the UK and overseas, and the level of business being done was very high indeed.”

Alan Lodge, 26.05.2010