Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/764739
n Vineyard & Winery Manage- ment's most recent annual online survey of Unified Wine & Grape Symposium trade show exhibi- tors, close to 95% of respon- dents expressed optimism going forward. More than half (53.51%) said sales were better in 2016, up 7.36% from the previous year. The bulk of survey respondents included suppliers of winery equip- ment and supplies (about 65%), suppliers of vineyard equipment and supplies (21%) and providers of win- ery services (14%). Providers of a variety of services, from financial to educational, also participated in the survey. (Respondents were able to choose up to two categories, so cat- egory totals exceed 100%.) O f t h o s e r e p o r t i n g a s a l e s increase in 2015, 45.59% report- ed a gain of 5% to 10%, 37.76% experienced 11% to 20% growth and 10.29% saw a 21% to 40% increase. Sales grew by more than 40% for 7.35% of respondents in 2016, up from 5% in 2015. Suppliers who reported sales declines or flat sales performance for 2016 cited increased competi- tion as the main reason, followed by a poor economy. While no respon- dents reported difficulties for cli- ents in obtaining loans as the reason behind a decline in sales during 2015, 10.87% reported that to be the case in 2016. When suppliers were asked to name the most important factors in clients' buying decisions, neces- sity was cited as the top consider- ation, followed by value, service and improved technology. In looking ahead to 2017, 55.26% of suppliers predicted a "modest" increase in sales, 22.81% predicted a "significant" increase (up from 10.26% in 2015), 20.18% predicted flat sales and only 1.75% anticipat- ed a decrease (down from 10.26% in 2015). Wine industry expresses optimism for the coming year Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Exhibitor Survey Results and 2017 Exhibitor Listings 7 4 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 2 017 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m