Wine buying season

Australia, perhaps more than any other market, is geared towards summer drinking – and when you live in the southern hemisphere, that means the end of the calendar year. However, the process for stocking beverages naturally begins long before this time, and this affects how you need to approach your strategy for ranging product in-market.

For Australia’s international buyers, the key period for sourcing new product and meeting with existing suppliers is fast approaching. Trade shows such as Wine Paris, ProWein and Vinexpo are catalysts for the start of this period and are occurring from this week into the next few months. Buyers from the major importers and retailers will usually attend these events in Europe as a delegation, but find their meeting schedules booked out quickly. Now is the time to start preparing your strategy for reaching these buyers, demonstrating why your product should be part of their range and setting up a meeting with them.

Benchmarking your products against your major competitors in-market is crucial to ensuring that your products are competitive in their categories, from both a quality and price-point perspective. This will help you justify to the importer or retailer why your product should be ranged and where it fits in the larger market.

Most ranging decisions will occur in April and May, with orders being placed up until the middle of the year. It is key during this time to maintain contact with the buyers and ensure your offer and value proposition remains attractive. For those working with an importer/distributor (rather than through a direct retail partnership), trade marketing is crucial over the following months to increase your visibility for local buyers and support the efforts of your importer’s sales representatives. There are a number of methods available to achieve this, including events, advertising (print & digital) and PR; a combination of these is far more effective than any one channel in isolation.