The week that was

Top stories: Sometimes, the peaks and troughs of big business can set the tone for the industry.

And that was the case for Pernod Ricard this week when it revealed a set of ‘strong’ results for fiscal 2018, especially when it came to its premium spirits.

Its portfolio, which includes Absolut, Jameson’s and Beefeater, helped the French giant achieved its three-year plan of reaching between 4% and 5% topline growth, which it exceeded in FY18 with +6% total group sales.

Premiumising and NPD was key to achieving this, said chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard at a meeting in London yesterday.

We saw this resonate elsewhere this week, with our feature on innovative and smart packaging continue to drum up debate.

It’s usual in our industry to devote time and energy to what’s going inside the bottle.

But as new and more inventive technologies appear on the horizon, companies are now showing that smart packaging can be a vital tool in the on-going battle of engaging consumers and decoding shopping habits.

• Brexit casts shadow over New Zealand exports as wine body reports ‘muted growth’
• Mangrove appoints Tim Dunlop as regional account manager
• Prosecco DOC anticipates ‘one of the best productions to date
• Pernod hails dynamic UK growth
• Looking ahead: Joseph Walsh, commercial director, Distell
• The Wine Show confirms it’s ‘in talks’ with Oval Space about ‘wine event’ in place of The Wine Show Live’
• Smart packaging: wine gets clever

Analysis and Insights: A report on recycling and refillable technology wandered through the doors of Borough Wines this week to see how the team are working sustainably, while also leveraging repeat business.

And we took a look at South Africa, which is often celebrated by critics for its wine but crippled by drought and low returns.

The 2018 crop is predicted to be down by 15% after two years of water shortage.

However, Harpers editor Andrew Catchpole found this to be only half the picture, with deeper underlying issues dragging on the profitability and health of the South African industry as a whole.

• Wine refills’ sustainability hits the spot
• Repositioning South Africa 

People and Opinion: This week saw a probe into the often murky waters of bribes and incentives in the wine trade.

While personal incentives have become largely a thing of the past, levelling the playing field for all, columnist Jerry Lockspeiser explored the lingering issue of corporate bribes and listing fees, which often exclude smaller wine companies with less financial muscle.

And we rounded up this month’s regional indie focus for our meet the buyers series with Ted Sandbach, managing director of the Oxford Wine Company.

• Jerry Lockspeiser: Are commercial bribes acceptable in the wine business?
• Meet the buyers: Ted Sandbach, the Oxford Wine Company