sales & marketing
Retail Sales Analysis:
Off-Premise Wine Sales Rise 3.5 Percent Off-premise total table wine sales increased 3.5 percent from the same period of the previous year in the four weeks ending Dec. 1, 2018, according to Nielsen-tracked data. In the 52 weeks ending Dec. 1, wine sales increased 2 percent. 3.3 percent while imported wine sales increased 3.9 percent in the four weeks ending Dec. 1. In case volume during that same period, domestic case volume increased 0.1 percent and imported case volume increased 1.2 percent. The three major wine-producing states, California, Oregon and Washington, saw good growth in both sales and volume. Sales of Oregon wines were up 12.7 percent in value and 10.2 percent in volume; Washington wine sales were up 6.9 percent in value and up 5.7 percent in volume; and California wine sales were up 2.7 percent in value and down just 0.6 percent in volume in the four weeks ending Dec. 1. The Portuguese, New Zealand and Italian wine categories were the imported categories with the highest growth: Portuguese wines were up 8.3 percent in sales and up 3.4 percent in volume; New Zealand wines were up 10.8 percent in sales and 10.3 percent in volume and Italian wines were up 6.7 percent in sales and 3.1 percent in volume; Sales and case volume for imported wines from Argentina, Chile, Spain and South Africa decreased in the four weeks ending Dec. 1. Of note, the sales value of German wines dropped 4.4 percent in the four weeks ending Dec. 1, but sales volume increased by 21.7 percent. Sales for wines in the ultra-premium glass, $15 to $19.99 price point segment had the most growth, increasing 11.9 percent in sales and 13.1 percent in volume in the four weeks ending Dec. 1. The remaining premium price point categories had fair growth in the four weeks ending Dec. 1: the super-premium, $11 to $14.99 segment increased 8.5 percent in sales and volume; the luxury, $20 to $24.99 segment grew 10 percent in sales and 10.2 percent in volume; and the super-luxury, more than $25 segment grew 7.5 percent in sales and 6.3 percent in volume. Sales and case volume for wines priced $10.99 and below dropped. DOMESTIC WINE SALES INCREASED
By Varietal Rosé table wine, as a category, saw a 43.4 percent increase in sales and a 43.8 percent increase in volume in the four weeks ending Dec. 1. Red blended table wine is up 3.4 percent in sales and 1.5 percent in volume, and white blended table wine is down 5.5 percent in sales and 4.8 percent in volume. Chardonnay was the largest selling varietal by case value and volume on the market: Chardonnay sales were up 0.9 percent and volume decreased 1.4 percent in the four weeks ending Dec. 1. Cabernet Sauvignon increased 5.9 percent in sales and 2.5 percent in volume.
172 February 2019 WBM
Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio/Gris were the varietal categories with the most growth; sales of Sauvignon Blanc grew 8.4 percent in value and 6.3 percent in volume; sales of Pinot Noir grew 5.1 percent in value and 2.8 percent in volume and sales of Pinot Grigio/Gris grew 2.4 percent in value and 2.8 percent in volume. Sales and volume for Malbec, Merlot, Muscat/Moscato, Riesling, Shiraz/Syrah and White Zinfandel have all decreased in the four weeks ending Dec. 1.
Packaging In this issue’s “Industry Outlook and Trends” article (see page 20), a number of the CEOs interviewed mentioned that alternative packaging has grown, both in the number of brands offering new containers for wine, but also in consumer acceptance of the packaging. Nielsen’s data supports this. Sales value of wine sold in glass increased 3 percent, but the sales volume of those wines decreased 0.8 percent in the four weeks ending Dec. 1, 2018. Sales of boxed wines were up 6.7 percent in value and 4.3 percent in volume; sales of canned wines were up 86.5 percent in value and 62.6 percent in volume; sales of wines in plastic bottles were up 12.5 percent in value and 13 percent in volume; and sales of wine in Tetra packs were up 11.6 percent in value and 10.1 percent in volume.
Types of Wine Outside of table wine sales, Nielsen also tracked the sales of sparkling wine, sangria, dessert wine and wine-based cocktails, each of which saw positive growth. Sales of sparkling wine, which holds the second-largest share of the market—still table wine holds the lion’s share—were up 7.9 percent in value and 4.4 percent in volume; sales of sangria increased 10.4 percent in value and 5.5 percent in volume; and sales of dessert wines increased 1.3 percent in sales and 0.5 percent in volume. Wine-based cocktails saw the highest growth, up 60.8 percent in sales value and up 43.1 percent in sales volume. The category holds just a 0.3 percent market share in value and 0.4 percent market share in volume. WBM