Promotion should become the main obsession in 2010, say wine producers

The wine market, valued at 450m euros, will strongly focus on the low and high-price segments, namely on extremes this year, after low-price brands witnessed significant increases starting as early as 2009, the main industry players believe. "(...) Segmentation and accurate positioning are the winning moves. Communication, promotion in itself, must become the primary obsession," said Catalin Paduraru, a shareholder in Vinexpert. Promotion investments in the wine industry are still extremely low compared for instance with the beer market. Consumers' switch to the low-price segment is also reflected in the trend of the wine market, which last year dropped by 10% in terms of volume and by over 10% in terms of value, while brands such as Eticheta Neagra of Murfatlar rose by 40%. In terms of marketing investments, the wine market is in the "consumption stage". Most producers' marketing investments are still low despite the tightening competition from abroad.