United under Generic Flag

Things are looking good for South Africa. Sales are on the up in key export markets and the mood is bullish.  Charlotte Hey talks to Su Birch of Wines of South Africa

THERE ARE few in the South African wine industry who would deny that Su Birch, CEO, Wines of South Africa (WOSA) has pulled off a major coup in the UK market. 

Her success in bringing together competing exporters, importers and retailers to discuss and agree to participate in a generic campaign is unprecedented.

Her dedication and enthusiasm for the South African cause, whether wine or empowerment related, is unrelenting.  Her journey with WOSA began three years ago when she took up the reins at head office in Stellenbosch. 

At that point funding was minimal and the thought of getting anywhere near the kind of budget she is now commanding in the UK would probably have been a pipe-dream.

But then came the deal with the EU and a Common Customs Tax (CCT) rebate that could have the potential to yield in excess of £1 million each year for the next decade.

Birch openly admits that the CCT rebate is something that she still cannot quite believe has happened and, while she has had problems with the Dutch and German markets, the UK has been "exemplary in its support of making this ambitious project work".

She admits, "2002 proved to be harder for us than expected, but I really believe that things are going to start happening in 2003/04.

We didn’t realise how complicated the CCT rebate would be to work out, but we have had good support from key importers in the UK and their exporting counterparts at this end."

Her delight is palpable when she recounts that she will "never forget seeing all the major UK retail players sitting around one table discussing the motivators and distinguishers for South Africa and how these could be worked into a meaningful generic campaign".

Now a lot of the groundwork has been done, and with the recent announcement of a new £1.2m generic campaign by Wines of South Africa in the UK, it looks like all the rumours about South African wine being the next big thing are true. Birch, however, is realistic: "2003 is going to be tough.

The rand hasplummeted over the last 18 months which will lead to increased maintenance costs and increased prices.  As the rand strengthens, returns go down. In short, people are losing money," she explains.

"Not having the margin to do business is going to have a serious impact in the industry here in South Africa.

We will see some marginal operators disappear and it will become increasingly difficult to supply own label brands at £2.99 price points," Birch argues. 

Having said this, she admits to feeling bullish.  "There is a selfconfidence about the industry that has never happened before.

We have more expertise now, a better image and the quality of the wines is better than ever before. 

As a result, South African wine is becoming of real interest in many markets, and we are beginning to gain recognition as an exciting country.  "What we need now as a category is brands with real promise.

We don’t want to go down the Australian route.  What we need is to build a consumer franchise and a strong consumer proposition with strong brands.

Added to this is the diversity of our offering at the premium and super-premium end, all of which will make the South African category a force to be reckoned with."