Pernod Ricard readies premium wine push
Pernod Ricard UK is readying a marketing offensive for its premium wine brands such as Jacob’s Creek and Bancroft Estate, as it looks to arrest declining sales across the category.
The French company has launched the ‘Building Premium Wine Brands’ initiative to assist retailers with in-store marketing to encourage consumers to trade-up to premium wines. Activity will focus on promoting drinking occasions.
The in-store initiative is driven by research commissioned by the company that revealed 58% of shoppers are wiling to trade up to premium wines, but only 11% do. Pernod Ricard surveyed 2,500 people, with almost 60% saying they were willing to spend more than £7 on a bottle.
According to a spokeswoman for Pernod Ricard UK, premium wine is the company’s fastest growing category and with such a high percentage of UK consumers willing to trade up it aims to capitalise on the trend.
Despite the findings, the report comes at a time when the overall sales of wine and spirits continues to fall in retail outlets in the UK, according to the latest Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) Market Report.
It revealed that volume sales of wine in the off-trade were down 2% for the year to 4 February.
Pernod Ricard UK’s premium wine push is part of a wider global strategy that has already seen the company upscale key brands in its spirits portfolio, such as Absolut, Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s.
