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UK retailers plan ahead for Champagne for royal wedding

Published:  24 March, 2011

Important lessons have been learnt by UK retailers after over-stocking Champagne for the millennium celebrations and the same mistake will not be repeated for the up-coming Royal wedding and Olympics.

Important lessons have been learnt by UK retailers after over-stocking Champagne for the millennium celebrations and the same mistake will not be repeated for the up-coming Royal wedding and Olympics.



That's according to the region's generic body, the CIVC (Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne) speaking at a briefing prior to the annual tasting.


Andrew Hawes, chairman of the UK Champagne Agents' Association, said in the lead-up to the millennium, retailers over-anticipated demand because they were "hypothesizing people [who] never drink Champagne would drink three bottles over the course of a week". This over-stocking meant there was "a total absence of ordering for 18 months" after the event.


Nowadays, he believes, retailers "are a lot more knowledgeable about how people behave" and more modest orders will be in-line with demand.


Hawes said the Royal wedding and Olympics will be "a nice boost" to Champagne sales, but he did not anticipate either event will "precipitate massive over excitement in the market".


Françoise Peretti, director of the Champagne Bureau, denied that the celebrations will result in a flood of special Champagne labels or limited editions entering the market. But she admitted: "We are going to see an awful lot of [Champagne] consumption driven by people visiting the UK". My guess is a lot of Champagne is going to be consumed in the off-trade."


At the briefing, the CIVC revealed Champagne shipments to the UK reached 35.5 million bottles at end of last year - up 16.3% from 2009. "I expect to see a steady, sustainable recovery in UK market," Hawes said.


He added that while "times are still tough in the mainstream part of UK Champagne market", premium brands and prestige cuvees are recovering more strongly post-recession.

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