Europe Intelligence Wire articles from February 2008

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from February 2008

Tesco tops in drinks retail.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Laura Clark Tesco swept the board at this week's OLN Drinks Retailing Awards, winning five of the 17 gongs, including Supermarket of the Year. The grocery giant also scooped awards for Online/Direct...

Diageo opts for Ketel One over Absolut vodka.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Diageo has pulled out of the race to buy Absolut after sealing a AGBP460 million deal to buy a 50 per cent stake in the global distribution, sales and marketing rights of the super-premium Dutch vodka brand Ketel...

Cobra sets sights on a top 10 position.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Cobra Beer is focusing on its core brand, Cobra 5 per cent, for a marketing push, commercial director Nick Paget has said. The company has been recruiting staff for its customer and trade marketing over the...

Four-way split for Oddbins.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Christine Boggis Oddbins has promoted four sales heads to lead its business as it embarks on a large-scale restructure . The chain is splitting into four wings, each designed to cater for a...

In Brief.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Incentive for sustainability New Zealand Winegrowers has launched an initiative to give wineries and vineyards the ability to calculate their carbon footprint and to encourage sustainable winegrowing. The...

SIBA urges retailers to jump on trend towards local brews.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Nigel Huddleston Independents and multiple specialists are missing out on growth in the premium bottled ale market, according to a new report from the Society of Independent Brewers. The...

Exports keep rising for Austrian wine.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Austrian wineries celebrated a rise in exports to the UK at their biggest London trade tasting so far, where nearly 100 wineries showed off their wines to the UK trade and press. The UK is Austria's...

VOX SHOP.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) "We don' take cheques from our retail customers. They're pretty outdated now and one or two have bounced in the past. They're a nuisance and some people are unable to write the m properly. We much prefer electronic...

VDP judges announced.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) The judging panel for this year's Top 100 Vins de Pays competition has been confirmed. The 16-strong panel includes retailers, suppliers and wine writers including Waitrose's wine buying manager Justin Howard -Sneyd...

Shopkeeper shot at close range in Bradford off-licence raid.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) The owner of a Bradford off-licence has decided to sell up after her brother was shot during a robbery at the store. Nasir Hussain, 26, was shot by a masked gunman in front of his four -year-old daughter, while...

Reh Kendermann hopes extra sales are in the can.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) German wine producer Reh Kendermann is rolling out a semi-sparkling variant of its Black Tower brand in a ring-pull can. Aimed at younger drinkers, Black Tower Fizz is described by the producer as "deliciously...

Navy spirit lives on through will.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Rare Royal Navy rum worth some AGBP8,000 will be sold by auction next week. Ten 50-year-old gallon jars , each with a government wax seal, will go under the hammer at Charterhouse Auctioneers in Sherborne, Dorset on...

WSTA pleads with Treasury.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Laura Clark Retailers and suppliers are backing the WSTA's stark warning to the Treasury that significant duty hikes will have a devastating effect on the drinks industry. In its 2008 Budget...

In Brief.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Benevolent quiz Members of the trade are invited to show off their general knowledge and raise money for the Benevolent at a Benevolent Buddies quiz night. The event is at Aragon House in Parsons Green, west London,...

A change would do Oz good.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Rebecca Evans The Australian wine industry must wake up to the fact that it is "no longer best placed to compete on price or volume alone", according to Paul Henry of Wine Australia. Speaking at a seminar at...

Holberry bids farewell toACoors after 20 years.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) John Holberry is leaving Coors Brewers after 20 years with the business and its forerunners to become the managing director for Magners cider in the GB market. Holberry joined what was then Bass in 1987, joining...

Bonfils acquires 'classic' UK brand.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Languedoc-based producer Bonfils has bought the James Herrick brand from the Foster's Group. The deal includes the acquisition of 180 h a of Chardonnay vineyards and the wine-making site Domaine de la Motte,...

In Brief.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) New styles for Jeroboams The Jeroboams Group has taken on a new UK agency from South Africa. The Diemersdal Estate in Durbanville is owned by the fifth and sixth generations of the Louw family, who took ownership of...

New low-alcohol wine range for M&S.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Marks & Spencer has launched a lower -alcohol wine range specifically designed to help drinkers remain within the government's daily alcohol unit guidelines. All three wines - a Verduzzo, a Raboso rosA and a...

Supermarkets feel the love for annual day of romance.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Laura Clark Supermarkets are slashing prices on a range of Champagnes and sparkling wines ahead of Valentine's Day. Waitrose leads the annual fizz war with a number of price cuts on major sparkling...

Bootleg vodka is a potential danger.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Potentially lethal bootleg vodka made from industrial -strength alcohol has been found in Slough. The vodka, labelled 1806 Christoff 100Aper cent Pure Grain, came from an illegal manufacturing plant in Cardiff...

Cheques out at big stores' checkouts.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Tesco and Marks & Spencer are the latest high street retailers to stop taking cheques as payment. From Feb 25 Tesco will only accept cash, debit or credit cards, with M&S following suit on March 1. They join...

In Brief.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Winchester passes the test A test purchase sting in Winchester has resulted in a 100 per cent pass rate. All 12 off-licences tested by police refused to sell alcohol to under-age customers. Officers conducted the...

Campaign is misguided.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) It's all very well Wines of Germany running a campaign to get more young people to drink German wines, but unless they make it easier to understand I can' see it working. Branded wines like Black Tower and Blue...

Writ large.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Philippe Boucheron makes some salient points about the role of wine writers (Feedback, Jan 25), and it would certainly be good to see some more bite from many whose work apppears in the nationals. As I'm sure...

Gadsby is no hero in the Oddbins saga.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Why oh why is the resignation of Andy Gadsby being heralded as some sort of success on his part? Oddbins has gone from being "the" high street wine retailer to a joke under his fearless leadership. Except this isn'...

Sainsbury's backdown tells a story.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Interesting to see Sainsbury's withdrawing its multi buy promotion on Basics cider - AGBP3.60 for eight litres (26p a pint) - shortly after the deal became the focus of a negatively-slanted piece in the Mail on...

Festivities only manage an average haul.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) As we all know, Christmas is the core sales period of the year for drinks suppliers and retailers. Many categories have a huge reliance on Christmas sales. So I have taken this opportunity to look at GB...

MARKET MONITOR A graphic guide to the off-trade.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) British families spend the same proportion of their household budget on alcohol as they did 50 years ago, according to a survey by the Office of National Statistics. On average, UK households spend around AGBP11...

The art of persuasion.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) The Drinks Retailing Awards is a wonderful event. As you might imagine, it isn' so much the food, drink and spectacle of it that I like (but of course, that helps) and although the event wouldn' happen without...

End of an era for British brewing.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Foreign brewers will account for more than 75 per cent of the British brewing industry if the takeover of Scottish & Newcastle is completed. Even if the current AGBP7.8 billion offer from Carlsberg of Denmark and...

Who foots bill for discounts?
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Q I saw Harveys Bristol Cream reduced to AGBP3 over Christmas - cheaper than I can buy it. How can this kind of discounting be sustained and who is paying for it: the supplier or the retailer? A Discounting is a...

the forum.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Q Should I leave the dust on my bottles of fine claret and Burgundy to add to the mystique of these wines? A Dust means two things: stock that people don' want to buy and a manager who doesn' care enough about the...

Does local radio hit the right note when it comes to advertising your business?
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Q There is a new local radio station broadcasting to our town and the surrounding area. I'm thinking of advertising. Is it worth the bother and how do I go about creating an ad? A Most local radio stations will be...

Burgundy tasting set for consumers.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Six independent suppliers and retailers are coming together next month for a consumer event in Huntingdon. The Big Burgundy Tasting features Amps Fine Wines, Lay & Wheeler, Liberty Wines, Berry Bros & Rudd,...

Exclusive deal for unusual Italian.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Maison du Vin, of Hawkhurst, Kent, is the exclusive UK retailer for the 2004 vintage of Cento Uve - the Italian wine made from 152 grape varieties. Produced by Mario Giribaldi, the wine is described by owner...

Bursary puts Portugal in the spotlight to boost wine sales.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Graham Holter Independents are toasting increased sales of Portuguese wines thanks to the AGBP25,000 bursary scheme from ViniPortugal and Wines of Portugal. More than 30 retailers and on-trade...

Research highlights organic prospects.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Organic and biodynamic wines are the biggest growth area for independent wine retailers, according to exclusive research carried out by OLN. Twenty-four per cent of stores now describe the category as one of...

News in brief.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) l Bennetts Fine Wines, of Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, has unveiled a star-studded tasting programme at the nearby Cotswold House Hotel. On Feb 27 Livio Felluga's export director Matteo Burani will host a...

Argentina beefs up its prospects.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Has Argentina reached what sociologists call "a tipping point" in the UK? Or, to put it more simply, is South America's largest wine-producing country finally set to make an impact on the British retail scene? I'm...

Farewell to one of the great characters of the wine world.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) When Robert Parker clashed with Bill Baker over the latter's caustic review of his first book, Bordeaux: The Definitive Guide , in 1987, he accused the West Country wine merchant of being a "small, jealous person"....

World of wines for theAindependent mind.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) The tastings take place in Manchester 's Bridgewater Hall on February 25 and London's Vinopolis on February 27. For more information and to register visit sittastings.org. Wines from around the world will be on...

Sainsbury's keeps things local.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Nigel Huddleston Sainsbury's will offer the winners of a new competition for small and medium-sized brewers advice on how to get their products listed by other retailers. The chain is responding to...

Grant and Sharp end partnership.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) The boss of boutique Scottish beer producer Innis & Gunn has bought out his joint venture partner in the business, the Scotch whisky producer William Grant. Dougal Sharp and Grant formed the company in 2003,...

Bottle to save 10,000 tonnes of glass a year.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Glassmaker O-I has produced a 50cl beer bottle which it says weighs a third less than those currently used as standard by the brewing industry. The move follows interest from other brewers in bottles the...

InBev assigns Hilger to marketing role.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) InBev's marketing director in Germany is to fill the vacancy left by the departure of UK marketing boss Devin Kelly. Andreas Hilger will join the UK operation on March 1, reporting to company president Richard...

Adnams bids farewell to Curzon.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Adnams marketing director Steve Curzon is to leave the company at the end of March. It's not yet known where Curzon is going or who will replace him. Managing director Andy Wood credited Curzon with the...

Beer in brief.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) l Fuller Smith & Turner has signed up 20,000 people to its Fine Ale Club, which offers its members discounts, competitions and a free, quarterly magazine. Club co ordinator Clare Draper said the club had become...

Plunge into the Abyss.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) You may not have heard about this year's winner of The International Beer Challenge and, unless you're jolly lucky, you certainly won' have tasted it. Nor, sadly, are you likely to. Dark, strong (11 per cent...

Industry-leading figures head World Whiskies Conference.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Laura Clark Speakers for this year's World Whiskies Conference have been announced. Designed to help those in the industry to meet the sales, marketing and production challenges of the global whisky...

Danzka drunk straight from freezer.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Global Brands has expanded its spirits portfolio with the addition of the Danzka Vodka range. Distilled in Denmark, the wheat vodka is presented in an aluminium bottle which chills the vodka 50 times faster than...

Inver House 16 YO sticks "like toffee".
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Inver House has added a new vintage to its collection of AnCnoc single malts. Hand selected by master distiller Stuart Harvey, the 16 Year Old is the first in the collection to be wholly matured in American oak...

Amarula trialled at Afrika! Afrika!
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) First Drinks Brands is rolling out a sponsorship campaign to drive a trial of its cream liqueur Amarula. The company hopes to target over 400,000 consumers by linking up with Afrika! Afrika! - the circus...

Tapio appeals to health conscious.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) RTD brand Tapio has added a third variant to its range. London Dry Gin is blended with pink grapefruit and cherry, and has 4.7 per cent abv. It has been created to appeal to drinkers looking for healthier brands...

Chambord shapes up for Fashion Week.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Chambord is being promoted as "the spirit of fashion" with its sponsorship of this year's London Fashion Week and London Fashion Weekend. To advertise both events, the brand has teamed up with In Style magazine...

Emperor's new clothes?
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Dave Broom, spirits writer: "Vodka has got itself into an interesting bind. It has pushed neutrality so far that the only point of difference between brands has been the look and not the flavour, because there was...

State of things to come?
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Call me, Ishmael," said a voice on the answerphone. "I have something interesting to offer you. You know where I am. I know I can rely on your, er, discretion." Ishmael's wife, Amelie, deleted the message. "If it's...

Top Tip.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) "My advice to traditional wine merchants is: Hold your nerve and keep doing what you're doing well. It's all about offering a bespoke service - you can' be complacent. You have to work at it very hard and think...

NEW oLN CROSSWORD Number 19.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) ACROSS 1 Small informal party (3-8); 7 Grows old (4); 8 Japanese unarmed fighting sport (2-5); 9 Have power of vision (3); 10 Surrender or submit (5); 11 Large rounded wine glass (6); 13 Roused into action (6); 16...

COMPETITION.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) To celebrate this Sunday's BAFTA Film awards, OLN has teamed up with Taittinger to offer one reader a limited edition BAFTA branded Taittinger Brut Reserve Non Vintage bottle - as enjoyed by the stars on the night....

TALKING HEADS.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) If you had an extra hour in the day what would you do with it? Less paperwork and I'd get to talk to friends who I don' get the chance to keep in touch with. When you're not working how do you seek your thrills?...

This little piggy went to vodka market.
February 8, 2008... (From Off Licence News) So-called style bars have long been fond of making weird versions of vodka by dunking Dime bars and bits of mint Aero in them, but few have yet cottoned on to the delights of bacon vodka. An internet blogger has...

Care worker is attacked.
February 18, 2008... (From The Portsmouth Evening News) A female care worker was mugged as she arrived for work.The woman was attacked by a man as she arrived in Merle Court Gardens, Hunston, near Chichester, West Sussex. The man walked up to her and demanded...

Campaign to reduce antibiotic usage.
February 18, 2008... (From The Portsmouth Evening News) Health officials are backing a government campaign to cut down on unnecessary requests for antibiotics.Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust is reminding patients that the drugs do not help to treat...

Kid-proof shops in a hip-hop stylee.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Now that Mosquito devices have been demonised by the Children's Commissioner, beleaguered retailers may be forced to look for alternatives to high-pitched squeals to deter menacing kids from hanging around their...

TALKING HEADS.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) What advice would you give to someone thinking of setting up aAwine merchant ? The old adage "to make a small fortune in the wine business, start with a large one" springs to mind. Serious advice would be - don' try...

Thresher to sell 200 leases.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Graham Holter Thresher is offloading some 200 branches as part of a review of its business. The group has no freehold interests left and is hoping to find buyers prepared to take on the leases of...

Lager tops OLN Brands Report 2008.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) There are signs of a positive shift in theAUK off-trade, OLN's Brands Report can reveal. In spite of a looming duty hike and a rise in raw materials costs across the board - which many in the trade fear will...

Jygsaw pieces together Heritage Drinks brands.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Scottish & Newcastle's joint venture partner Jygsaw has pledged to "reinvigorate" the brewer's heritage ale brands. The two companies have together set up Heritage Drinks, which will focus on increasing...

S&N sale set for the summer.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Rebecca Evans Carlsberg and Heineken's takeover of Scottish & Newcastle could be completed by early summer, according to S&N chief executive John Dunsmore. Speaking at S&N's full-year financial...

In Brief.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Sales up at Select & Save Convenience fascia group Select & Save has grown its alcohol sales by 33 per cent in the third quarter of 2007, compared to 2006, while overall like-for-like sales grew by 10.8 per cent....

Raw material costs likely to prompt price hike in beers.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) S&N and Heineken have warned that prices will have to rise as costs for raw materials and utilities spiral. In its full-year results statement, S&N said its "input costs" - the price of raw materials, packaging...

'Mosquitoes' cause quite a buzz.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Graham Holter Retailers have defended the use of Mosquitoes - the devices emitting high-pitched noise that only young people can hear - to deter anti social behaviour outside their stores. The...

VOX SHOP.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) "They are generally good.AWe sell about three orAfour cases a week becauseAthere are so many varieties now. We sell nine orA10 varieties, such as Jacob's Creek, Freixenet, Chenet, Lindemans and Wolf Blass. Sales...

'Journey of a lifetime' offer from Smirnoff.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Diageo is giving off-trade consumers the chance to win one of hundreds of luxury trips retracing brand creator Vladimir Smirnoff's journey from Moscow to Istanbul , Paris and then New York. The competition will run...

Prof wants to ban drink in multiples.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Supermarkets should be banned from selling alcohol, says a government health adviser. The chairman of Health England, Professor Julian le Grand, said customers should not be "lured" into buying alcohol during their...

Keeping up with the code.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Byline: Emma Eversham Drinks industry watchdog the Portman Group has appointed a management consultancy to conduct random checks of drinks on sale at off-licences. The move is part of the Portman Group's...

Tesco wine guru moves to global company role.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Tesco's Jason Godley is leaving his role as wine category manager for a new job with the company. Godley, who has worked in Tesco's beer, wine and spirits department for the past six years, will leave his...

Waste consultation results in new annual recycling targets.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) The government has increased its annual packaging recycling and recovery targets for the next three years following a public consultation on waste. The Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is now...

MacFarlane in as Evans quits InBev.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Stuart MacFarlane is the new president of InBev's UK and Ireland operation, following the surprise departure of Richard Evans. MacFarlane, who returns to the UK following a spell in Belgium as global director...

In Brief.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Derek Patterson OBE dies Former Mars Confection ery external relations manager Derek Patterson OBE has died. Patterson, who was national president of the Confectioners Benevolent Fund from 1987 to 1988, then...

Scottish off-trade could face extra fees on alcohol.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Drinks retailers in Scotland could be forced to pay extra fees to sell alcohol in the future under government proposals to stamp out problems associated with drinking. Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill's...

BRC helps retailers understand access.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) The British Retail Consortium is offering advice to retailers on how they can influence transport policy in their area. A guide called the Retail Toolkit for Improving Town Centre Accessibility will be sent to...

Dudley 15 unite with police in trial.
February 22, 2008... (From Off Licence News) Fifteen off-licences in Dudley have joined forces with their local police to help tackle under-age drinking and retail crime. The stores in the Upper Gornal and Castle and Priory wards of the town agreed to sign...