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many smaller wineries will offer a discount of a few
dollars to try and clear out inventory. In some cases,
Tips for Pricing Wine adjusting the wholesale price by just a few cents
in British Columbia can make a drastic difference in how well a wine
sells.
According to Big Sage Strategies In British Columbia, most wine retailers like to
wine pricing consultant Lindsay work on a 30% margin. A wine that wholesales
at $15, for example, would retail around $20—a
Kaisaris, some wine price catego- “dead” price for a bottle of wine. Most con-sumers
ries offer more opportunities than are either looking to buy a wine for less than $20,
others. or looking to spend a few bucks more. Even though
it is only a penny less, wine sales trends show that
the majority of consum-ers prefer to buy a $19.99
Wine priced in the $20 range sells bottle of wine or a $21.99 bottle of wine.
better than wine priced above $30.
If you can, set the wholesale price “No one wants to buy a $20 wine,” Kaisaris said.
to make it possible for your $30 “A couple of dollars makes a big difference on the
wine to be priced at $29.99 or less shelf.”
in-store. By reducing the wholesale price from $15 to
$14.39, Kaisaris said, it gives the retailer more room
The mid-40s price point is a dead to set the price at $18.99, which would make the
zone: “$44.99 is neither premium wine stand out next to the $19.99 bot-tles on the
shelf.
nor mid-range,” Kaisaris said. “At
$49.99, it’s benchmarked against Lowering the wholesale price by a few cents isn’t
flagship wines and seen as a pre- the only way to put your wine into a more favor-
mium bottle.” Wines at this price able price category on the shelf. In one case, after
point might even be placed in a analyzing sales numbers and the com-petition on
the shelf, Kaisaris advised a client to increase the
different section of some stores, price instead. Sales of the wine had been stagnant
alongside premium brands.” at $44.99, but when the retail price increased to
$49.99, the wine sold out.
If you’re selling a premium prod- Kaisaris recommends doing a careful competitive
uct, price it boldly. If your customer audit of the other wines in your category, and price
is likely to be shopping for an ex- strategically so that your wine isn’t crowded out by
pensive bottle to give as a gift with too many similar ones at the same price.
a $100 budget in mind, they may Vary the Price of Your Wines
actually be more likely to spend
$89.99 than $74. “Price elasticity Another common mistake smaller wineries make
gets wider the higher up you go,” is to price all their wines close to the same value,
she said. Kaisaris said.
If your winery has five or 10 different wines, try
marketing at least one at a lower “entry-level”
price point, and one at a more premium price. That
allows customers to compare prices and select a
wine that feels more or less expensive.
If a winery has seven labels all priced between $20
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