EDITOR'S NOTE StateWays
Looking at the Bright Side
I
'm a pessimist by nature, or a "miserableist," as one writer recently termed his psychological condition as an inveterate New York Giants football fan. [What he meant was that no matter how well they might be doing in a game, no matter how far ahead, he stayed miserable because he expected them to lose in the end. And, even when they win, as we all know unexpectedly happened this year, he experiences less a feeling of joy than one of relief that they didn't, once again, blow the game.] So, as a miserableist, I'm pretty hesitant to join those optimists brimming with positive energy. Now, however, I feel myself wandering over to the bright side, a smile on my face, and an inkling that our economy, which from, late 2007 through mid-2009 was a total wreck, has finally emerged, weakened but gaining strength by the week. Indeed, as most economic indicators have shown in early 2012, the American economy appears to be headed in a sustained positive direction, and wine and spirits sales are likely to pick up along with the economy, particularly among higher-end products. [Of course, as all economists point out, any exogenous events – such as dangerous political crises or wars, huge natural disasters, etc. - could easily change all that.] Still, overall wine and spirits sales volume increased nicely in 2011, according to the latest statistics, just released in the Handbook Advance 2012, published by the Beverage Information Group. U.S. distilled spirits sales volume rose to approximately 197.1 million 9-liter cases, representing a 2.6% gain versus 2010 (which saw an increase of 1.9% sales volume over 2009). And overall spirits retail revenue growth (the combined dollar total of off- and on-premise sales) also increased, by 3.0% to $67.66 billion, a $2 billion jump over 2010. It turns out that a large part of that increase is the result of more sales activity at the premium and above-premium price segments. The same holds true in the wine segment. Total U.S. wine consumption increased by 2.5% in 2011, to 310.7 million 9-liter cases (compared to an overall 1.7% wine volume increase in 2010), the eighteenth consecutive year of wine sales volume increases, according to Beverage Information Group research. Similar to spirits, the move toward high-end purchases continued in the wine segment. Indeed, overall 2011 wine revenue figures show an increase of 2.9% to $27.69 billion, nearly $800 million more than in 2010. So, things are looking up, and the beverage alcohol industry is poised to take advantage.
Just a reminder to those StateWays readers who would more frequently like to read about the latest industry trends and activities: visit the StateWays Facebook page. All you have to do is go to www.facebook.com/stateways and "like" us. Then, those of you who have a Facebook profile can see our ongoing updates in your own newsfeed.
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jnedelka@m2media360.com StateWays www.stateways.com March/April 2012 ®
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