Wine sales in super and hypermarkets have gained further ground against those operated through traditional channels such as hotels and restaurants, and accounted for 70.9% in overall sales by late 2007, from 67.9% in 2006, according to data provided by MEMRB market research company.
On the other hand, wine sales through hotels and restaurants dropped from 32.1% in 2006 to 29.1% in 2007. The trend became visible as early as the start of the year, according to MEMRB data, and came amid the strong expansion of the Key Account International segment compared with the development posted by the on-premise segment.
The question is, how much longer will this trend last? Wine producers' representatives say there is no chance of this trend being reversed on short or medium term, with the phenomenon likely to be influenced by a series of factors, such as the offer players are or are not willing to adapt for the on-premise segment.
"It's a delicate issue that is related to the changing consumption habits and will therefore last over the short and medium term (...)," believes Daniel Negrescu, Murfatlar brand manager.
Another factor would be an improvement in the quality of services.
Amid the strong expansion of modern supermarket networks, wine producers have also modified the weight of sales. Sale prices in this channel are smaller than on-premise ones and as a result the impact over turnover has been negative.
In terms of changes, it is worth mentioning the rising weight of red wine, to 32.3% last year from 31.8% in 2006, even though wine remains dominant in Romanians' consumption habits.
In terms of segmentation, over 70% of the market is held by wines sold in 0.75 litre volumes, according to MEMRB data, slightly lower than in 2006. There is also a slight decrease in the weight of PET-packaged wine sales to 13.8% from 14.4% in 2006.
According to MEMRB data, the top five wine producers held a cumulated market share of 63.9% last year. 2007 marked the open competition between domestic wines and imported ones, with the latter's advance not being as strong as initially expected. Last year also brought the closing of stores two specialised retailers held in Bucharest- Depozitul de Vinuri and Vinlux.
Currently, the wine market is estimated to be worth 450m euros.
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