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Aspinal of London (US)

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Written by Nikitas Magel   

Wine ShoppingAR: (con'd) Of course, the distributors with tight strongholds on regional markets aren't going to let it go without a fight.  But the smart distributors, those who truly get it, would start partnering with people like us to really crack the code as to what their online strategy should be.  But that won't be happening just yet — initially there's going to be a real battle: direct-to-consumer shippers (like Amazon or Bottlenotes or whomever) versus the distributors.  And I think if that war continues, it'll certainly delay the outcome, but ultimately the outcome will be the same: consumers will get what they want, and producers will be able to ship where they want and where they have the demand.  Because that's the American way.  That's what a free market economy does, in spite of the fact that we live in what historically has been a puritanical society that hasn't allowed shipping of these things.  We're not talking about tequila!  We're not talking about whiskey!  Although even with those, I personally don't have a problem, but I understand regulating their shipping.  What we are talking about is fine wine, wine for dinner parties, wine for everyday use, wine where you don't want to be limited to the selection in your grocery store.  And so, I think that is where the wine industry is going.

What I think is going to happen, ultimately, is that there will be some additional direct-to-consumer shipping to restaurants and hotels.  I think that's also where distributors are going to get hammered.  Say that you're [a wine buyer for] the Venetian [in Las Vegas] and you only wanted Italian wine — why would you not work directly with the best Italian wine importers in the country?  The way it is now, you have to go through the distributors in Las Vegas; it makes no sense!

NM:  And so where do you see traditional distributors going?  Because usually there's only one victor in the wake of a battle.

"The distributors with tight strongholds on regional markets aren't going to let it go without a fight. But the smart distributors, those who truly get it, would start partnering with people like us to really crack the code as to what their online strategy should be."

AR:  Listen, I'm not here to bash distributors.  I worked for a distributor while at a boutique wine import company in Manhattan a few years ago.  And I was constantly impressed by the knowledge of their salespeople — my god, did they know wine!  I mean, any of them could write a book, no question; they were really knowledgeable people, really!  But in Manhattan, it makes total sense, right?  There's a completely entrenched market of supply and demand of restaurants and wines to be sold.  And if you're a restauranteur and you build up a relationship with three or four distributors, with very knowledgeable salespeople, and they can get you what you want rapidly (because you don't have any storage for excess inventory) and/or they can offer you alternatives matched to what they know you would like — all of a sudden, these distributors are providing a huge service to you.  They're a filtering system!  That's what the old distributors did; they created demand and they marketed products.  And that is the role that online wine retailers are increasingly going to fill — in marketing. We online marketing firms for wine are really the next generation of distributors.  So, if the [traditional distributors] are smart, they'll invest in us or buy us or even create other versions of us or whatever.  But that's what's happening, and the wine world is not going to be held back from evolving and exploding into the online domain just because old school distributors don't want it to; it is going to happen!  So the question is, are they going to embrace it or are they going to be left in the dust?

Wine ShoppingSpeaking honestly, though, I'm cautiously optimistic that a lot of them will, in fact, embrace it.  Because the distributors have a tremendous amount of wine knowledge that could be of better service in marketing to consumers precisely where those customers are increasingly going right now [to buy their wine] — particularly in this economy.  It's a tough time.  And times are too tough not to be willing to think creatively.

NM:  So, from your perspective, online wine retailers are, in many cases, getting back to basics, as it were, by taking on the marketing role that traditional distributors used to have but which has fallen by the wayside.  Although this time around, they're doing so in the context of modern, online tools and technologies.  In other words, wine e-commerce is reclaiming some of the core values that traditional wine distribution of late has neglected.



 

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wine in the news

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