Over the last 2 years, a lot of questions were raised internationally about how sustainable high prices for wines can be. Today, these questions are more particularly adressed to Bordeaux and Napa Valley wine producers. The car manufacturers’ reports should make luxury wine producers less worried about their future than they may be at this period of time. But wineries should also be aware that if great opportunities effectively exist, 1) the markets for luxury have changed and 2) buyers’ habits in the luxury world have also changed. These two points are extremely important and the new Forbes Billionaires’ list was particularly interesting to understand where fortunes were today. For the first time in 16 years the richest man is not in the USA but from Mexico. Among the richest men in the world, 64 billionaires are chinese (versus 28 last year). These are the facts and luxury wine producers must take action in order to be in line with this new situation.
As a conclusion, Forbes has shown a new big picture and industry leaders revealed important figures and interesting medium to long-term strategies for luxury cars. In a similar position, wine producers must market their highly-priced bottles where luxury shoppers are. But only wineries with an up-to-date vision of the fast moving global environment will succeed in a troubled period.
(You can reach the writer at guillaumejourdan@hotmail.com)
