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 Whether it is part of the global strategy of Accolades Wines to promote Hardys label or due to extra inventory as some might feel, it is not relevant to the consumer. For the impulse driven market, this could be a good strategy to attract wine lovers to these shelves on the extreme, least visible corner of the Duty- Free Arrivals at the IGI Terminal 3 Airport. And a step in the right direction! It is doubtful whether the shop sold in the recent past any wines at the original suggested price of $14, but at ‘50% discounted’ price of $7 (Rs. 480 a bottle), it is unbeatable price for a quaffable Australian wine; it retails for Rs. 1100 in Delhi.
Even I picked up a bottle each of Hardys Stamp Chardonnay Semillon 2013 and the Hardys Riddle Chardonnay which remains a riddle to me since I had never heard of the label before. But the purchase was my implicit way of showing support for the concept which I have been recommending for a long time to improve sales of Duty-Free wines.
I have never tasted Riddle before so I called up from the airport Sula Selections-the distributor of Hardys in India. They had not heard of this label either; possibly it was a new label introduced in the Duty- Free market directly by Accolades. One would not expect much information from the sales staff at the Duty-Free shop anyway. But search of their website later indicated one Brut and one Moscato variant only in the Riddle series; their online stores did not seem to list this wine yet.
Two other labels available at this massive discount, which are genuine in that the wines were being displayed at the original prices for over a year, are Matarromera from Ribera del Duero from Spain. Preposterously priced at $120 for the Reserva 2006 and $ 71 for Crianza 2008 (I doubt if they sold many bottles at that price), I might not be inclined to buy even at the 50% reduced price of $60 and $36 as I still don’t find them attractive. But it is relevant to point that I don’t remember the last time I ever bought wines from Duty-Free in India. Hardys Stamp is a nice quaffable wine and Riddle would make an interesting gift although the bottle I purchased will be uncorked soon to taste and further solve the riddle-Stamp wines are blends while Riddle is a varietal.
 A couple of other labels under this ‘limited period monsoon offer’ were sold out, I was told. The sales supervisor could not give me a suitable explanation for this sudden offer but did say that the stocks were fresh and drinkable and that the CEO of the company had instructed to offer 50% discounts on a few select wines as well- as a part of the general promotion at the shop.
Whatever the explanation, it is a good idea to make such special offer regularly, changing the wine labels by rotation according to the promotion and attract the returning Indians (and the ex-pats who stay for a few days). Once there are more footfalls, the sales are bound to increase. I also recommend purchase of 3 bottles-since 2 litres of alcohol is allowed per person and since wine comes generally in 750 mL bottles Customs allow 3 bottles of wine. Even if you give away this wine in lieu of flowers as a gift, you are spending much less money and giving a nudge to wine drinking culture.
Fantasize for a moment that out of thousands of passengers arriving at the airport daily, if 100 passengers who would not otherwise pick up any alcohol, picked up 3 bottles of wine at attractive prices, the additional sale could be 9000 bottles (750 cases) a month or 9000 cases a year from one venue only and this is not an insignificant number!
For some of the earlier related Articles, please visit
IGI Airport: Delhi Duty-free Dresses down Wines
Wines under resuscitation at the Delhi Duty Free
Allow Separate Wine and Beer Duty-Free Shops
Subhash Arora |