Posted on 10/24/2003 5:10:54 PM PDT by concentric circles
Sales of French wines have been suffering in the United States ever since March, when some American consumers threatened boycotts to show their displeasure over France's opposition the U.S. plan to invade Iraq. But with the passage of time and changes in the global political situation, have French wines been recovering in the market? Not according to the latest figures on wine imports and retail sales.
The six months of retail sales data available since March from Information Resources Inc. shows that French wines dropped in each of six periods through mid-August compared with 2002, yet Americans bought more table wine overall in that time. And imports of French table wine were down more than 20 percent for each of the months of May, June and July, according to Impact Databank. The first shipment declines, of only 1.1 percent, were noted in April. In contrast, imports were up 22 percent in January.
Yet many specialty fine-wine retailers around the country say that political resentment against France has only had a small impact on them and that other economic factors are at work.
"I speak with a lot of customers, and lots of them have strong feelings about the way this country should be run," said Todd Hess, wine director at Sam's Wine & Spirits, the large Chicago retailer. "I do not get any sense that they are disgusted with the French [or that they] are showing disgust by not buying French wine."
He and some other colleagues believe the strong euro hurt French wines by pushing cheaper European wines out of their usual price brackets. "People are very much looking for $10 bottles of wine, and the weakness of the dollar to the euro pushed a lot of Italian, Spanish and French wines out of that range, where they typically had been," Hess said. "American, Australian and Chilean wines have been able to stay under $10, so they're selling better."
During the four weeks ending on Aug. 10, French wine sales dropped 6.6 percent in case volume and 13.2 percent in value compared with the same period in 2002, according to Information Resources Inc., which collects scanner data from U.S. retail outlets such as supermarket chains. With price falling more than volume, those figures suggest that retailers are either discounting substantially to move cases or that less-expensive French wines are selling better.
However, the Aug. 10 drops were substantially smaller than those in the previous five months. IRI reported declines ranging in size from 17 percent to 27 percent for the four-week periods ending in March, April, May, June and July. For the 52 weeks ending on Aug. 10, sales were down 15.6 percent in volume and 16.4 percent in value compared with the 52 weeks ending in August 2002.
Meanwhile, U.S. imports of table wines from around the world were up for the 52 weeks ending on Aug. 10, by 5 percent in volume and 4 percent in value. Out of the past six periods, the biggest increase was seen for the four weeks ending Aug. 10, when overall sales jumped 7.7 percent in volume and 5.5 percent in value.
French table wine may have become symbolic, a political punching bag. "We haven't seen lower sales in Cognac or Champagne at all, so I think French wine has been singled out," says Jacques Thebault, president of Sopexa Americas, an organization that promotes French food and wine. Likewise, according to IRI data, sales of French vodka and cordials have not declined either. "Wine is so remote from everything that is political, so it's a bit of a shame," Thebault added.
Yet while sales of French wines declined in supermarkets and among certain sets of consumers, fine-wine connoisseurs don't seem to be avoiding France's highly prized bottlings.
"It's not the collector," said Mark Wessels, general manager of MacArthur Beverages in Washington, D.C. "It was the casual drinker who comes in and says, 'I want a $10 bottle of wine, and I don't want it to be French.'" Wessels said he stopped suggesting French wines to local catering companies, some of his biggest clients. "I started sending only American wine, because I figured out of 100 people, one or two would complain if they served French wine, and I didn't want to hear about it the next day."
The overall sales figures might have been worse if not for the remarkable quality of the 2000 vintage in Bordeaux. Christian Navarro, a partner at Wally's Wine & Spirits in Los Angeles, said the release of the 2000 Bordeaux, which coincided with the invasion of Iraq, may have been too tempting for would-be boycotters. "I think it's definitely vintage-driven," he said. "If [the war] happened during poorer vintages, it would be a lot easier for people not to buy French wine."
Michael Aaron, chairman of Sherry-Lehmann Wine & Spirits in Manhattan, also thanks the good vintage for padding French wine sales. "We had some dips in business, especially with less-expensive wine, but now our French wine sales are absolutely off the charts, especially since the 2000 Bordeaux arrival," he said.
David Andrew, corporate wine director for Costco, the wholesale discount chain, says he's actually seen a marked increase in his French wine sales. "If I were to simply pull numbers on our French wine, they'd show that they are up 100 percent," he said. "So we've noticed no backlash whatsoever. But that's a result of the [2000] vintage. Our members are more interested in getting their hands on the wine they want than where it comes from."
Soon, retailers hope, all of their customers will put politics aside and make their buying decisions based on quality and value. "As with most boycotts -- like Russian vodka during the Cold War -- time heals many wounds," Aaron said.
For information about the report, contact Joshua Opperman by phone at (212) 684-4224, Ext. 339; by fax at (212) 779-3366; or by e-mail at jopperman@mshanken.com.
Haven't knowingly bought anything even remotely French since their shennanigans about Iraq way back when - and no plans to.
In the late 1960's, Jerry Lohr began an extensive investigation of grape growing regions throughout California. As a result of his farming background, he has always understood and respected the importance of soil quality, climate and location, which led him to California's Central Coast region. In 1972 and 1973, he planted 280 acres of wine grapes at Greenfield Vineyards in Monterey County, and in 1974 completed his winery in San Jose. In 1988 property near Paso Robles was purchased, now encompassing over 1600 acres of vineyards, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and other red varietals, and an adjacent winery and barrel facility. Also in 1988 Jerry began expansion of his vineyards in Greenfield, which now includes more than 750 acres of Chardonnay and other cool climate varietals such as Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Valdiguié. By the late 1970's, J. Lohr wines were distributed throughout the United States, and in the late 1980's an international sales department was added. Today the J. Lohr products are available in more than 20 countries worldwide. The goal of J. Lohr Winery is to produce only varietals which can compete with the finest in the world, using a style which focuses on flavor and complexity through vineyard selection, technology and innovation.
I personally think the French will never recover their market share for anything but the real expensive stuff, still prefered by the America-hating elites since it is so chic to disdain ones homeland.
The Unions actually have a purpose...
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