Having entered the market with the entry level Zinzi wines, followed by the flagship label Fours Seasons, he said, "We have been late entrants into the market and deliberately so," explaining that the group had been assessing the market potential for the wine business.
With increase in number of women wine drinkers of late, this section of consumers which had not been in the market earlier has slowly started trickling in. The increase in number of wine drinkers in general also augured well for the business, he is reported to have said in Bangalore, according to PTI.
Mallya said good branding reinforced with a good marketing plan could help the wine business grow in India.
As might be expected, he talked more about whisky and beer than wine and announced that it would soon launch 'John Barr' whisky in India and would look at focusing on branded sales, rather than on bulk sales.
The company entered wine business only about 3 years ago with the entry level Zinzi label, followed by the introduction of Four Seasons wines last year. Lat last year, it introduced a range of Reserve wines also.
The company also imports wines though it seems to be in the consolidation mode with no new labels or countries introduced in the market recently. Interestingly, the Kingfisher beer division of the group also imports an entry level Kingfisher wine from South Africa, which is marketed through the beer division, ostensibly to capture the market of beer drinkers shifting to wine.
Playing down the fears about their being financially overstretched and talking about the current debt level, he said, "We are comfortable with our level on debt. We have no issues on it". The former number one player of wine market, Indage Vintners has gotten the wrong end of the stick because of over-stretching their financial resources and hit by recession and are facing a winding up fear due to the liabilities they are unable to service. |