Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/437957
n our annual online survey of Uni- fied Wine & Grape Symposium trade show exhibitors, respon- dents reported continued sales growth in 2014. Although the per- centage of companies that saw increases declined from 2013, a greater percentage said that sales held steady from the previous year, rather than declining. Overall, more than 95% of sup- pliers expressed optimism about the health of the North American wine industry in 2015. The majority of our survey par- ticipants – about 67% – are sup- pliers of winery equipment and supplies, while 23% provide winery services and 12% are suppliers of vineyard equipment and supplies. The remainder offer a variety of ser- vices, from financial to educational in nature (respondents were able to choose up to two categories). Approximately 64% of respon- dents reported that their sales improved in 2014, a drop from 80% reporting increased sales in 2013. Sales remained flat in 2014 for 30% of suppliers, up from 15% in 2013. Sales declines were reported by 6% of suppliers in 2014, compared to 5% the previous year. Of those who experienced sales growth in 2014, about 40% report- ed a 5%-10% increase. Forty-eight percent saw 11%-20% growth, and approximately 9% saw a 21%-40% increase. Sales jumped by more than 40% for just 2% of respon- dents in 2014, down from 9% the previous year. Suppliers who reported sales d e c l i n e s f o r 2 0 1 4 w e r e m u c h less likely to blame the economy for their troubles, compared to those who saw declines the previ- ous year. In 2013, 59% cited the economy as the main reason for the dip, while in 2014, only 25% did so. Some 65% of respondents (up from 32% the previous year) blamed increased competition and 10% (up slightly from 9% in 2013) reported difficulties for clients in obtaining loans. When suppliers were asked to name the most important factors in clients' buying decisions, necessity was cited as the top consideration, according to about 40% of respon- dents (up from 34% in 2013). Value was next on the list, according to approxmately 35% of respon- dents (down from 43% in 2013). Service was the third most impor- tant purchasing factor, followed by improved technology. In looking ahead to 2015, approx- imately 64% of suppliers predict- ed a "modest" increase in sales, while 18% predicted a "significant" increase, 17% predicted flat sales and 1.5% anticipated a decrease. When asked about their level of optimism about the health of the North American wine industry in 2015, 52% (the same percentage reported in 2013) of participants said they were "cautiously opti- mistic," while nearly 42% (up from 39% the previous year) reported being "solidly optimistic." The number of "extreme" optimists in 2014 declined from 2.5% in 2013 to 1.5% in 2014, and the percent- age of "not very optimistic" suppli- ers decreased slightly from 6.3% in 2013 to about 5% in 2014. Business growing or holding steady for industry suppliers 2 1 0 4 UNIFIED WINE & GRAPE SYMPOSIUM Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Exhibitor Survey 1 0 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | J a n - F e b 2 015 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m