Downturn in revenue with champagne in the UK

Meanwhile, Mintel analysts predict a turnover plus of as much as 55 percent for sparkling wine. In 2007, sparkling wine attained turnovers of 465 million £ (about 596 million euro) – in 2012, it is supposed to attain 720 million £ (about 923 million euro).

“Before the economic downturn, champagne was being associated with success”, Chris Wissen, senior analyst for food and beverages at Mintel’s, explains to the media. “Nowadays, people are careful to make luxury available more easily and to enjoy it at lower prices. But the champagne has a problem. It is in serious danger to lose its unique selling point. Furthermore, the quality of sparkling wines has increased, and their price performance ratio has become better; this causes problems for champagne brands in turn.”

As late as in March, 2011, the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), the champagne umbrella association, reported a total turnover of 141.2 million bottles for that year. This was the second largest volume after 2007, when 150.7 million bottles were brought to sales. The largest growth came from Russia (plus 24.5 percent), China (plus 19.4 percent) and Hong Kong (plus 15.1 percent). But as early as in the second half of 2011, turnovers on these three markets decreased and amounted to a total of 4.1 million bottles.

The only two markets for champagne that did not increase in volume in 2011, were Spain with a slight decrease and the UK with a decrease of 2.7 percent to 34.4 million bottles. (red.yoopress)