Search results

The fundamental political and economic reforms taking place in Eastern and Central Europe pose some difficult questions for the future of the agri‐food industries in Hungary and Bulgaria. A major sector facing the problems of transition to a market economy is wine, traditionally an important source of export earnings. The loss of the volume markets in the former COMECON countries has forced the wine sectors to look to West European markets and the UK in particular, where wine consumption is rising. Hungary is currently a minor source of wine in the UK and has a generally poor reputation in servicing the requirements of the market. Bulgaria now accounts for over 3 per cent of the UK′s total wine imports and is perceived widely to be an example of highly successful marketing. This is due largely to tight control over export activities by a former state‐controlled export body. Since the fall of Communism, this control has been weakened as individual wineries export on their own account – undermining the consistency of marketing effort. Overall both Hungary and Bulgaria have the potential to meet the wine import requirements of the UK wine buyers, although both have to overcome common and divergent problems of transition and are developing from different historical bases.

Shows how the development of a marketing strategy within English wine can be used to promote greater sales and also dispel the problems of European Regulation. Highlights the case for hybrid wines and the need for an approved quality wine scheme which would work hand in hand with a quasi co‐op system. Discusses the components of a successful marketing strategy illustrated through a case study which concludes that there is a recognized place for English wine within the market once a marketing strategy is adopted and pricing techniques reviewed.

Wine is important to the Portuguese economy, and the United Kingdom is one of Portugal's oldest and most important wine markets. Yet the Portuguese are rapidly losing their share of the UK market, and have already been overtaken by Australia, Bulgaria, South Africa, the USA and Hungary. This paper reports a study of the Portuguese wine industry in the context of the UK market using Porter's structural analysis model as the analytical framework. Data were collected via depth interview with executives closely involved in the wine trade, in Portugal and the UK. It was found that Portugal's traditional source of competitive advantage, low costs as a consequence of low wages, has been eroded. The absence of any other cost advantage, low investment in products and markets and a lack of scale economies are exacerbated by production‐led convictions that Portuguese wine is best — it is just that the customers do not appreciate it. Meanwhile the customers perceive a lack of reliability in quality, lack of the ability to consistently deliver the required quantity and fluctuating prices. Portugal needs a consistent strategy for sustainable competitive advantage; some alternative strategies are discussed.

This paper considers the part played by the individual and collective marketing activities of wine producers in the Côtes de Duras region in South West France in the successful penetration by these products of the major UK retail outlets for wine. Most of the marketing effort by producers in Duras so far has been targeted at the domestic consumer and at visitors to the region itself. Analysis of a survey of UK retail buyers suggest that these communications focused marketing initiatives may have played a relatively minor role in the decisions by many of the major UK retailers to stock wines from Duras in their outlets. The survey re‐emphasises the power of the highly expert major retail buyers in this industry, with implications for the future development of marketing actions by growers.

The US wine market is one of the most heavily regulated in the world with government regulation requiring exporters to go through a three tier distribution system. Coupled with geographic fragmentation, high transportation costs, and a significant degree of uncertainty, this represents a significant barrier to entry for small producers. As the wine market becomes more and more competitive, the ability to enter the world's second wealthiest wine market will be critical to continued market success. One way of circumventing market entry barriers and complying with government regulation is the formation of a strategic alliance with a home country distributor. This paper presents a case study in how one company, Montana Wines of New Zealand, formed an alliance with Seagrams Chateau in the US. The secret to success is to find the right fit between the philosophies and culture of each partner.

This paper will consider global branding in international markets and specifically global marketing strategies as applied to the Chilean wine industry. This will be completed mainly by secondary data research and a comprehensive literature review. In the first part, the central arguments of selected writers about global brands, their standardisation, adaptation and customisation processes will be analysed. The second part of this paper will illustrate the changes in the global wine industry, the general situation of Chile in this sector, as well as the situation of the Chilean wine industry in the UK analysing the main characteristics of this market. Additionally, the paper will exemplify what individual wineries are doing in the UK marketplace and examine the factors affecting the possible creation of global brands for Chilean wine. Finally, the conclusion will suggest that brand recognition as well as the country of origin effect could be strong marketing tools for Chilean wines.

This paper explores the use of interactive marketing by UK on‐line wine providers to discover the extent to which strategic or tactical use is made of the web‐based presence. The four principles of relationship marketing were used as an evaluative framework against which on‐line wine providers were assessed. The paper finds that most UK on‐line wine providers use interactive marketing tactically without giving sufficient consideration to maximising the potential of building relationships through Interactivity.

This paper examines publicans' response to the growing UK market in pub wine sales. It considers the findings of recent market surveys relating to wine sales across‐the‐bar, looks at the breweries' commitment to wine sales (research, training, consumer interest) and considers the potential of sales in this field for the breweries and independent landlords. Despite the rapid rise in popularity of wine, evidence suggests that the brewers, as yet, have still to make a full response to market growth. It appears that across‐the‐bar wine sales have been influenced little by the increase in UK wine imports and sales or changing public interests and demands. Trends indicate that there should be a significant market for wine in pubs, yet currently wine sales account for only 4% of all across‐the‐bar sales; as such this section of the pub beverage market offers brewers and publicans real potential to develop their wine sales strategies thereby increasing their sales and improving the appeal of their pubs.

Bulgarian wine made a dramatic and successful entry into the UK wine market in the 1980s and led a revolution in wine drinking in the UK. Charts the strategies employed, and the relative success achieved, by the state‐controlled Bulgarian wine industry in entering the UK and other EC markets. The state system both supported and hindered the efforts of the industry to apply a market‐oriented approach to production, pricing and exporting. Reviews the development of the former state‐owned company in the post‐communist era. The future for Bulgarian wine in the UK and other EC markets is uncertain. Observes general trends in the UK market and in the wine industry.

With the growing urgency to reduce Europe's swelling “wine lake”, further growth in underdeveloped markets is being hampered, in part, by the risks involved in purchasing wine. Perceived risk is a factor which affects consumers' decision making when they are considering a new product choice or a choice in which the “stake” is high. The article considers the importance of various risks, for example, social, financial, functional and physical, to consumers in the UK wine market. The most important perceived risk was the taste of the wine, the least important being the risk of hangover. The group discussions elaborated several other points. Knowing the exact risks people perceive about a product, marketers can set about altering the product in an attempt to reduce those risks thus increasing the competitive differential of the product.