MIXED EXPERIENCES FOR PETER LEHMANN WINES

Ever since delisting from the stock exchange in 2004 after Peter Lehmann Wines was taken over by the Swiss-based Hess Group, the Australian company has experienced ups and downs. Sales in the United States and Canada are looking good with 30% volume growth over the last half year but sales in Australia and Britain aren’t going anywhere. After a 10-12 year trend of solid growth, sales in Australia have plateaued. "The sector here is extremely well serviced and there's a lot of competition," Mr Lehmann said. "In Australia, there is so much wine around the big boys are cutting deals we can't match and I don't know how long they can keep doing it." Their relationship with Hess, however, is working well. The 85% owner of Lehmann Wines came to the rescue in 2003 when they were fighting a hostile takeover bid by Britain’s Allied Domecq. According to Mr. Lehmann, “Hess are constructive, they don’t interfere and they work very well with us…we don’t have quite the pressure we did when we were a listed company.”