'We have already registered 40 labels and within one month we shall register 40 more, finally taking the total to 120 labels for the current year,' informed Sudin Menon, the Delhi based Regional Manager, North for Berkmann Wine Cellars India Pvt. Ltd. The 800 cases leaving Mumbai in a temperature-controlled container will include popular labels like Bertani, Marco Felluga, Fonterutoli, Yellow Tail and Haras de Piques.
Formed in November 2007, 'the company has already sold 3109 cases till March 2008', says Mumbai based Farhad Bhabha, Commercial Director. 'We will concentrate on Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana including Gurgaon, and Rajasthan in the North. Later we shall move into Kolkata. We have already started operations in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka', he adds.
The Indian company is a subsidiary of Berkmann Wine Cellars UK, owned by Joseph Berkmann, which generates revenues of £65 million pounds with about 1500 labels under it hat, although it will register only about 400 in India.
The company plans to have a very aggressive pricing policy, says Menon. 'For instance our Premier Cru Chablis is priced similar to the competitor's regular Chablis.' Moreover, we can maintain consistency in supply of stocks as we shall be in the best position of consolidating our wines from the rest of the world.' adds Sudin.
'Our parent company in London gets very good prices because of big volumes it pushes. This will give us a price advantage,' says Bhabha. 'Since our parent company has a big turnaround and we will import only what is needed, we will manage to keep our vintages very fresh.
Keeping vintages fresh is a big problem in India today. Importers get stuck with the older vintages. When hotels have a similar problem after the purchase, the customer gets wine well past its peak. Young whites are big sufferers.
Many of the current popular labels in India being distributed by the existing importers are also a part of the UK company's portfolio. There will be severe pressure on those producers to shift their Indian portfolios to Berkmann. Dinesh Changela, the London based Managing Director of the parent company will perhaps be spending a significant amount of time 'convincing' producers to shift such accounts to their Indian subsidiary.
With brands like Yellow Tail already in the bag, Berkmann India is expected to be very aggressive. It has also spread its wings in the Indian wine segment by tying up with Vintage wines to promote their Reveilo wines. In the near future, this will be the company to watch.
Subhash Arora
August 6, 2008 |