|
August 2008 - Posts
-
In his column for The Financial Express, Yatin Patil of Vintage Wines has some tips for the government: "It would help if
the MRP of liquor is made uniform across the country, and there is
consensus among states to bring about a uniform duty structure under
four heads—excise & countervailing duty, sales tax, licence fee and
label registration charge. The MRP must be mentioned on the bottle and
sales tax is should be charged on the MRP mentioned. Consumers will be
more comfortable with the fact that they are buying the same product in
different places at the same price. Not only will it affect prices but
also the product will become consistent. The uniform duty structure
will also stabilise the differential pricing in various states due to
the tax structure." More: Financial Express
|
-
Australian wine technologist Diana Davidson has expressed concerns over Indian wine not meeting international standards and predicted that wine-makers from China, Argentina, Chile and South Africa could easily wipe out Indian wine from the international market. Speaking at a workshop organised for farmers by the Indian Wine Producers’ Association in Pune, she said, “Some Indian wines are good but most are below international standards. This is because farmers do not have adequate knowledge about the variety of plants, the soil required, irrigation techniques and pesticides to be used in vineyards. Most grape growers use traditional methods of cultivation and non-existing wine-culture too affects the quality of wine production.”
The Indian wine industry is worth Rs 1,000 crore and is expected to grow to Rs 4,500 crore by 2011. Since January this year, Indian wineries have produced 22.5 million litres of wine, which is exported to countries such as France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Singapore and Belgium.
More: Business Standard
|
-
Mumbai, August 16, 2008: Finewinesnmore the country’s leading marketer and distributor for premium imported wines, spirits and beverages has added its first domestic wine label to its elaborate portfolio. The tie up with leading domestic wine producer Chateau D’Ori will permit Finewinesnmore the marketing and distribution rights for Chateau D’Ori wines across the country except Maharashtra & Goa.
With the expertise of dealing with over 140 premium international wine labels across France, Italy, Chile, Australia and many other countries; Finewinesnmore is among India’s top importers and marketers of luxury wines and spirits. Chateau D’Ori is currently present in Maharashtra and Goa and is looking to capture the growing wine market across the country. The wines are based on Bordeaux style and have become extremely popular amongst wine enthusiasts across the country.
On the occasion of this tie-up Ms. Dharti Desai Founder and CEO of Finewinesnmore says, "With a view to expand its footprint Finewinesnmore has been looking for a strong domestic partner. The Chateau D’Ori philosophy and vision was a perfect compliment to Finewinesnmore and hence was the preferred partner. With our unfailing commitment to wines we intend to go a long way in serving the interest of wine consumers across the country. Ranjit Dhuru is a true visionary and a very diligent person and I respect his commitment to support us completely in our marketing efforts of their wines. India today can truly stand up and claim quality wines like the rest of the world and it was only natural for Finewinesnmore to help build brand equity for these wonderful wines using it's existing marketing and distribution platform".
Mr. Ranjit Dhuru, Chairman and MD of Château D’Ori wines says, “At Chateau D’Ori we have always given top priority to quality. Finewinesnmore is one of the leading distributors and marketers of imported wines and spirits in India. Dharti is the most dynamic woman entrepreneur I have ever met who has set very high standards for her imported wines portfolio in India and her reach to critical market segments will only help our brand grow further.”
Having chalked out Delhi and Haryana as the initial target markets; Finewinesnmore will take the wines forward to other parts of the country to ensure successful penetration across the Indian wine market. This move will strengthen Finewinesnmore position as a credible guide to assist traders and consumers in the wine selection process and enable them to get quality wines at the right price.
About Finewinesnmore:
Finewinesnmore (FWM) is one of the leading importers, distributors and marketers of premium imported wines, spirits and beverages in India. FWM has established itself as a credible, qualitative and innovative player in the Indian wine industry in a short time by building brand equity for its internationally reputed F&B partners and presenting a unique interactive platform (www.fwmclub.com) which brings consumers and producers together to share knowledge and passion in the world of wine and related lifestyle products. FWM is focused on providing an environment for building a community of lifestyle connoisseurs through consistent interactions between consumers and specialists.
About Chateau D’Ori:
Chateau D’Ori is the creation of an unusual entrepreneur and wine lover, Mr. Ranjit Dhuru, founder & CEO Aftek Ltd. On the one hand Mr. Dhuru runs a successful, Rs.400 crore multinational IT enterprise. On the other hand, his passion for wines has led him to set up India’s first state-of-the-art winery incorporating features like gravity flow and a fully automated bottling plant. Mr. Dhuru imported and marked in India eight Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) wines. These wines included a Bordeaux Superior, a Medoc, a Graves wine, and three St, Emillion including a Grand Cru.
|
-
More than 350 wines from leading vineyards around the world were tasted ‘blind’ in 2007 by a panel of internationally renowned judges, chaired by and organized in association with Robert Joseph, former Chairman of the International Wine Challenge London.
The two-stage judging process, open to wines of all categories, awarded 17 Gold Winners, 49 Silver Winners, 73 Bronze Winners and 61 Seals of Approval, marques of quality now gaining wide consumer recognition and driving sales. Companies can take part in either the London Stage of the competition (7th-9th October 08) or they can send their entries directly to India to take part in the Delhi Stage (11th-12th November 08).
for more details visit. IFE India 2008
|
-
With an aim to boost the wine industry in the country, the Central government has set up a National Wine Board (NWB) and an ad hoc committee to govern its work.
The decision to this effect was taken at a recently-held meeting, with Rahul Sarin, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
The Board will help tap domestic and export markets, interact with government, policymakers, lay down standards and norms for improving quality and competitiveness and value addition to growers.
The ad hoc committee, formed to govern the work of the NWB, will be headed by Shamrao Chougule, chairman, Chateau Indage. More: Business Standard
|
-
|
 The number of importers has increased from about 35 a couple of years ago to nearly 80, servicing the foreign wine market which touched 220,000 of 9-liter cases in 2007-08 and is expanding at over 30% a year despite the sudden and frequently encountered speed-breakers. Indian Wine Academy conducted an extensive survey for Meininger Wine Business International Germany, in which 44 current importers were studied. Here is a report compiled by Subhash Arora from indian wine academy
|
| Distribution of Wine in India
Unrestricted Import of wine and other alcohols has been allowed by the Indian government for over 5 years now. The number of importers has increased from about 35 a couple of years ago to nearly 80 , soon to touch 100 if one considers many new arrivals and the old ones who had stopped importing wine due to stringent laws, heavy duties and a restricted market which is now expanding at over 30% a year.
Distribution Restrictions
The procedure to import remains tightly controlled. The bonded warehouses-public and private, are the initial barriers involving considerable financial investment and bank guarantees.
Excise bonded warehouses and a license is required in each state where the brands have to be registered individually for each label after paying hefty annual license fee. In Delhi alone, the license to sell wine, beer and liquor costs Rs.5.0 lakhs (about € 8,000) annually for the fiscal year which is from April-March. Even if the license is taken for a month the same amount has to be shelled out, before a single bottle can be sold. The re is no separate, cheaper license for wine only.
The two restrictive measures set a sufficient barrier to the new entrants who are generally forced to use the services of existing bonders. The commission payable for these two services alone varies between 10-20% of the cost of wine. This affects the viability of the small importer who is obliged to rent these services.
Yet, the new importers are making a place for themselves for the future expansion. At the break even of 1200-1500 cases annual sales, there are few exits and the number of importers is steadily going up, though there is not enough market for all the labels to thrive.
Leaders in Distribution
Primarily due to the two factors, the new importers have not been able to make a significant dent so far and the old order remains. Brindco, the biggest importer, took the pole position and maintained its leadership; it increased its sales by more than 70% during the last two years, at about 51,000 cases.
Sonarys leapfrogged into the second spot as its own facilities of bonded warehouse helped it reach the number of 24,000 cases annually. Moet Hennessy has been promoting aggressively its Champagne and other wines. With the branding created for Moet & Chandon it has pushed the volumes to 21,000 cases and pipped Global Tax Free Traders to reach the third spot. Global has been stagnating at around 13,000 cases.
Assumptions
The figures and position of the importer in the hierarchy has been determined by conducting a survey among about 40 of the known importers. A major difficulty in assessing the sales in volumes (value is not a feasible criterion, as no official figures are available and there are lots of re-exports. In this nascent stage no importer-big or small is willing to reveal his revenues).
The import figures based on volume are also not easy to come by. Reliability has been made on the figures disclosed by the importer. Each importer was also asked to estimate the volume of the competitors based on their market reach, brand popularity, market penetration etc. Wherever feasible, different staff members and partners were quizzed at different times.
Another tricky factor to consider was the unsold stocks of imports during the year. Although the left-over stocks from previous year would have been sold in the current year too, a factoring was done based on the market conditions to allow for excess left-over stocks this year especially due to the slow down in sales due to Maharashtra imposing heavy excise duties at 200% resulting in practically no sales during July-Nov 2007.
The bulk wine imports have not been included in these statistics. A majority of such wines are bottles as Indian wine and sold as such. Recently Champagne Indage has started importing wine and this will reflect a significant share in the next year's statistics.
Some Interesting Statistics
The total sales of imported wines through legal channels was about 210-220,000 cases in 2007-08 including duty free sales of around 7000 cases nationally. The survey showed higher sales than the generally presumed sales of 180,000-210,000 cases.
The top 3 importers accounted for 96,000 cases which accounted for 44 % sales as compared to 60% about two years ago. The top 5 importers were able to sell a total of 121,500 cases, a share of only about 55 %. It took Top 6 importers to control 60% of the market which the top 3 managed two years ago.
The Top 10 were able to sell 159,000 cases, a 72% share. A further estimation of the next 30 (details not a part of the article) showed a sale of 29,000 cases (13%).
Distribution Pattern
The sales are controlled by each state individually and that will continue due to the constitutional powers. More and more states are allowing the sales through easier channels like supermarkets and stores that sell only wine and beer are given cheaper licenses. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Goa and Punjab have a liberal retail policy paving for a continuous growth through these channels. Delhi is still restrictive due to political expediency. Such policies are likely to change the market trends with Retail sector expanding in a big way during the current year
Each state requires wholesalers to have their own excise license. The importer/ distributors must sell their products through these wholesale licensees. Bigger importers like Brindco and Sonarys act as wholesalers in some states while others rely on local wholesalers.
Haryana allows retail sales through a license issued annually through draw of lots. But the retailer must buy through wholesalers who have to get a separate license. The Distributors have to sell through these wholesalers, adding to the cost of distribution.
During the coming years, there will be more sales through the retail channels. With big giants like UK's Berkmann Cellars, UB, and Diageo entering the market and the Indian wine producers like Champagne Indage and Sula stepping up their import activities, the Distribution hierarchy is expected to undergo an overhaul and the next couple of years will be interesting to watch.
|
|
|
|
|