Growth Of New Zealand Wines In The US Market

Phenomenal Growth Of New Zealand Wines In The US Market

US RETAIL - SIGNS POSITIVE FOR FURTHER SUCCESS

January 30, 2007, Auckland: Although the World Cup might still be months away, New Zealand wine exporters are already creating some history of their own in the US wine market – with sales of New Zealand made wines now the fastest growing of any country, ACNielsen, a unit of The Nielsen Company, revealed.

With growth exceeding 45 percent year on year, New Zealand now holds 0.8 percent share of dollar sales, according to a Nielsen wine study of the US off-premise liquor channel in the period to November 18 2006. See Chart 1

“This is an outstanding result for New Zealand wine exporters. New Zealand wines are now outgrowing all comers in the lucrative but very competitive US market. This includes not only US -produced wines but imports from the old and new world regions,” commented Mr Michael Walton, Director, Liquor Services, ACNielsen New Zealand.

Domestic wine still holds majority share (70.5%) of the US wine market with growth of nine percent, but this growth is much less than most of the imported wine countries. South Africa comes second on the growth list behind New Zealand, with sales growth of 35.8 percent. Other countries such as Germany, Spain and Argentina also experienced growth over 20 percent.

The 10 percent value share Australia holds ranks it as the second largest provider of wines to the US behind their own domestic market, although continued pressure on Australian wine prices has resulted in relatively weak sales growth of four percent.

The news for New Zealand wine exporters looks even rosier when examining the choices American wine consumers are now making.

“There are two very good reasons for even more optimism on the American consumer front. Three of the top seven styles of wine in double digit growth are styles that New Zealand absolutely excels in – Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc (also known as Fume Blanc in the US). Secondly – American consumers are now increasing their spend per bottle - all key growth in the US market is above $US9.00 a bottle.

Wine is an important category to retailers based on size, growth and contribution to the total basket spend. Wine ranked No. 17 in dollar sales within the grocery channel with sales close to US$5 million for 2005. Growth stood at 10.4%, the second highest growth category behind bottled water (18.3%). The average US basket size, excluding wine, of US$33.38 (NZ$47.92) increased to US$52.29 (NZ$75.07) once wine was included, an increase of 56.7 percent. This is even more marked in New Zealand where wine increases the basket size 84.9 percent, from NZ$50.29 to $92.94.

About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a unit of The Nielsen Company, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognised brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek) and trade shows. The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA.

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