WINE INDUSTRY UP, WITH MAJOR COMPANIES DOWN

IRI supermarket scans as reported by Morgan Stanley’s Bill Pecoriello show that trends in the wine industry over the last four weeks have “mirrored what we have seen for the year - good volume growth, good trade-up and major wineries struggling to maintain volume and dollar share.”

In the four weeks leading up to December 31, wine industry volumes grew 3.6% compared to 1.2% growth a year ago, and average price per volume increased 3% versus an 8% jump last year. Wine sales grew 6.7%.

The Wine Group saw the most volume growth at 5.3% compared to a year ago, with Foster’s trailing behind at 3.4% and Kendall-Jackson at 2.2%. Constellation and E&J Gallo both experienced a volume loss at 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively, most likely due to the loss of share in the low-end wine sector. Volume share remained flat or down across the board, except for a small 0.2% growth from The Wine Group.

K-J was up 7% in dollar sales from the previous year, while The Wine Group and Foster’s were not far behind at 4.5% and 3.4%, respectively. E&J Gallo and Constellation held similar dollar sales growth, increasing at 2.6% and 2.4%. Dollar share was down or flat for all the above mentioned companies.