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The wines are reportedly being produced in the existing Indage facilities at Narayangaon and are expected to add to the top-line of the company as it feels the customer is looking for cheaper options. According to the MD Ranjit Chougule, ‘We are constantly innovating our brand portfolio to broaden our offerings, both for the retailer and consumer. Indage was the first to create the inexpensive wine segment with Vin ballet and Figueira, more than 12 years ago.’
Indage hopes to sell 50,000 cases of 9-liters of these new wine labels in 2009. “We are targeting a revenue of Rs 100 million from the new brands over the calendar year,” Chougule added.
The cheapest of the new labels is Trio which costs Rs 144. Mojo and Blue Elephant are priced at Rs 204 while Silverton and South Bay have been priced at Rs 270 and Rs 396 respectively (all prices including tax). The wines are non-varietals except the Blue Elephant which has two variants-Shiraz and Chenin Blanc. How would these wines compete with Sula and Grover which already offer wines in the entry-level segment? Ranjit said with the usual self-confidence, “we do not need to create competitive strategies against competition; it’s more of a vice-versa position.”
Internationally, wine drinking has not been affected much by recession in volumes but people have been trading down and drinking cheaper wines. Like most other producers, Indage has been impacted in its sales for its regular brands too. Perhaps, the strategy of lower priced wines might help it give the revenues a lift. Only time and the consumer will tell-provided the distributors and retailers are not already over-stocked with brands like Vin Ballet, Figueira, Vino and Riviera etc. and do not resist stocking and bearing the additional burden of the new labels.
P.S.- Looking at the bottle of Mojo red wine, it does seem odd that the wine has been made from 2007 harvest and is being released only now. The only plausible explanation may be that it has been lying in the tanks for a couple of years and has been bottled now for the launch. It is highly unlikely that the screw-capped bottled wine with non-varietal grapes was left to age in the barriques.
Perhaps, a case of old wine in the new bottle?! |