Welcome and Introduction
Paul van der Lee, AWMC Chairman
Paul is currently Export Manager for the South Australian Wine Industry Association.
His previous wine industry roles have included policy development for WFA, board membership of AWBC, marketing consultancy, industry development strategy leadership, hands on experience as Chief Executive of a medium size winery, and personally selling wine in 20 different export markets.
Paul is recognised as the thought leader and author of the Strategy 2025 (1996) and The Marketing Decade (2000) reports which have had a major influence on the development and growth of the Australian wine industry.
Moderator
Matthew Jukes, winewriter, author and broadcaster
With many fingers in the wine industry pie, an energising personality and unbridled enthusiasm it’s no wonder Matthew has become so well respected in his illustrious 18-year career. Matthew’s wine initiation started as wine buyer for Bibendum Restaurant and Oyster Bar (London). Now he is one of the UK’s leading journalists.
Matthew shares his passion for wine via many mediums. From radio and television to books and magazines, more notably as the weekly wine correspondent and features writer for the Daily Mail – Weekend Magazine, his contributions have earned him global respect.
And as co-owner and palate behind the cult online wine newsletter – www.matthewjukes.com - Matthew delivers regional in-depth en-primeur reports and larger features such as - 100 Best Australian Wines 2004, the Cape Wine 2004 report and the annual Burgundy and New Zealand Reports.
Matthew’s efforts were recognised in 2002 when he was awarded the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition’s Trophy for Communicator of the Year.
Speakers
Saul Eslake, ANZ Bank
A regular highlight of the conference, the ANZ's Chief Economist Saul Eslake, will offer an overview of the global economy and Australian economic outlook, with particular reference to the wine industry. This provides a foundation for the two day conference discussions. Saul will draw on research in growth areas such as education, travel and leisure expenditure as well as the beverage industry.
Jonathan Scott, AWEC
Another "institution" of the AWMC, the report card will continue its multi-media biennial update on the work of AWEC staff around the world and the specific challenges in category status, developing, and emerging markets. As most wineries start their route to market domestically, the report card will in 2005 focus additionally on the domestic outlook and work being undertaken to grow Australian wine consumption.
Chris Day, FABAL Wines
Chris Day is the CEO of FABAL Wines and former chief executive officer of Berren Asset Management, the manager of the listed International Wine Investement Fund. He is also a former senior executive with BRL Hardy Limited (now Constellation wines) and Mildara Blass Limited (now Beringer Blass Wine Estates). He has had 14 years experience in the wine industry and 8 years experience in the legal, accounting, tax and merchant banking industries.
Chris will address the challenges of market selection. Are the best prospects for further Australian wine growth in the familiar developed markets where Australia already has a strong presence or do the emerging and embryonic markets offer better prospects? The session will explore specific characteristics of new markets and discuss access and competition issues.
Yoshiji Sato, Chief Wine Writer, Shuhan News
Yoshiji Sato has been writing about wine and the wine market for the past nine years. His recent research on the UK wine market was applauded by the Japanese wine industry. The report provided an insightful account of how Japan can better facilitate growth in its market by understanding the strengths of the UK's.
Don St. Pierre Jr., ASC Fine Wines
Twenty years after the export traffic lights turned green in the United Kingdom and the US, we stand on the starting grid of the world’s biggest consumer market. But can Australian wine become a major player in the Chinese wine market and what are the road rules in China? Can we accelerate from Shanghai to Beijing at the same speed as we did from London to New York? And what vehicle do we use to navigate the congested and unfamiliar roads? Don St Pierre Jr is in the driver’s seat of ASC Fine Wines. As the Shanghai based president of this major importer he is one of the most experienced Westerners in this complex sales environment. Don will share his ideas on the most effective route to market strategies for small, medium and large companies and what channels offer the best opportunities over the next five years.
Ann Oliver, Consultant Executive Chef
Ann Oliver will provide a hands on reality check on the on premise wine business in China based on her experiences in leading hotels and restaurants in Shanghai. In “Been There Done That”, Ann will share with us her China recipe for personal survival and business results.
Ann Oliver has 24 years experience at the highest level of cooking and restaurant management. 2005 sees Oliver and her team returning to China and other parts of Asia with the development of a five year business plan to market high-end top quality Australian wine food and tourism.
David Woods, Hardy Wine Company
David joined the Hardy Group in April 1987 as Sales and Marketing Manager at Houghton Wines. In 1992 he returned to Adelaide as National Sales Manager. Appointment to the board in September 1994 was followed by the role of International Trading Director from April 1999. After BRL Hardy's merger with Constellation Brands in April 2003, David was appointed Managing Director and CEO of the Hardy Wine Company.
The popular premium segment has provided an unprecedented growth opportunity in the global wine industry. The Hardy Wine Company has been extraordinarily turning this opportunity into sales growth and profitable business. David will discuss the future of this segment, why it is important that Australia retains its focus on it and how it can deliver benefits to the whole of the Australian wine industry.
Brenton Fry, Negociants International
If there is one distribution company in Australia that over the last decade or more has managed to maintain a premium portfolio whilst also offering its retailers restaurateurs and consumers value for money and choice from a wide range of small, medium and large producers, Australian regions and overseas it is Negociants International. Managing Director, Brenton Fry will talk about the importance of a higher priced offering to ensure a balanced portfolio.
Brenton joined Yalumba Wine Company in 1984 and helped set up Negociants Australia, which was to become the pre-eminent importer of the best wines from around the world. Soon after a new company, Negociants International was formed to export wines from many top Australian producers to the world's markets. As Managing Director of Negociants International and Buying Director of Negociants Australia, Brenton was also instrumental in setting up Negociants New Zealand, Negociants UK and Negociants USA.
Dr Andrew Pirie, Director and Winemaker, Pirie Tasmania
The challenge of establishing Australian wine in higher price point market segments is compelling and timely - has Australia taken the path of least resistance, chasing sales at ever lower price points and spawning cheap and cheerful imitators rather than asking our customers to trade up on the promise of sustained quality and authentic difference?
Dr Andrew Pirie graduated from Sydney University in 1971 with a Master of Agricultural Science. He trained as an agronomist and earned a Ph.D. in vine physiology. Early on in his career Andrew spent time in France studying viticulture and winemaking techniques suitable for cool climates. Bringing this knowledge home to Tasmania he successfully established Pipers Brook Vineyard making high quality, elegant wines, unique to the Australian wine scene at the time.
Dr Johan Bruwer, Convenor, Wine Business Group
The AWBC Research Grant provides an opportunity for a research group to build the body of Australian wine market intelligence and present their findings exclusively to delegates. At the last conference the consumer recognition of regional brands was investigated and at this year’s conference the University of Adelaide’s Johann Bruwer will present his group’s findings on the key drivers of on-premise buyer behaviour. Is it price point, occasion,alcohol level or other factors which influence the decision to consume wine,beer,RTDs or even coffee and mineral water?
Through his influential career as a lecturer at Adelaide University Dr Johan Bruwer has researched many facets of wine marketing and wine business management. His extensive knowledge of wine business has enabled him to contribute to a range of focused research projects that have directly benefited the wine industry.
Lulie Halstead, Wine Intelligence, UK
Consumers are scared! Wine is still a challenge and one of the riskiest retail decisions. More specifically can Australian wine gain a market advantage by encouraging further innovation in categorisation/display in retail channels. For example would re-organising stock from regional to newly created categories based on flavour, influence the purchasing decision?
Lulie Halstead, Research Director of UK-based Wine Intelligence, provides a unique insight based on her company's specialisation in wine market and consumer research, strategy consulting and information services. Her clients range from wine producers and brand owners in all major wine producing countries across the globe to generic trade associations, media and event organisers.
Wine Intelligence projects include brand development and positioning strategies, advertising development and testing and market segmentations; report on consumer and trade attitudes in many countries including the UK, US and mainland Europe.
Craig Watkins, former chief executive officer, Liquorland Retail
Craig Watkins has been a pioneer of the Australian retail liquor industry and has left an indelible mark in this highly competitive and evolving industry. During his extended tenure firstly as a senior executive of Coles Myer Liquor Group in its formative years and rising to become its long serving Managing Director, Craig grew and evolved the business into Australia's largest liquor chain boasting 630 plus stores and over 5,000 employees.
Robin Shaw, Winemakers' Federation of Australia
Robin has over 10 years experience in the wine industry and is currently the Tourism Development Director for the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, responsible for implementing the National Wine Tourism Strategy and enhancing the relationship between the wine and tourism industries for their mutual benefit. Robin is actively involved in wine tourism at State and National level and is currently a member of the Minister’s Tourism Round Table in South Australia. In 2004 Robin received a prestigious Winston Churchill Fellowship to undertake a world study tour of wine regions, investigating innovative wine tourism operations that could be applied to Australian wineries.
Delyse Graham, Managing Director, Wine Food Tourism Strategies
Delyse first entered the wine industry in 1989 and since then has applied her skills primarily in the areas of brand development and profile building, regional wine tourism, cellar door development and capacity building for small and medium sized wineries, and tourism businesses. She is Managing Director of Wine Food Tourism Strategies Pty. Ltd., a specialist wine industry business management consultancy.
Graeme Chipp, Managing Director, Growth Solutions Group
Graeme Chipp has had more than 20 years of Australian and international management consulting and senior executive experience. He has undertaken marketing and business development assignments across a variety of sectors including food, wine, tourism, retail, financial services, consumer and business-to-business marketing.
Paul Henry, Australian Wine Bureau, London
Since his appointment as AWB's UK Bureau Chief in 2003 Paul Henry has been responsible for the industry's collaborative marketing and promotional activities in the UK and Ireland - two markets which collectively take nearly 50% of the volume of Australian wine exports. Prior to his appointment with AWB, Paul was an Associate Director of Entoria WineCellars, a leading UK importer/agent. He also worked for four years in wine media with Harpers and World Wine and Food Network, in wine retail and the on-trade in both the UK and France.
Vic Motto, Global Wine Partners LLC
Vic Motto is Chairman and CEO of Global Wine Partners LLC, the global wine industry investment bank and the only bank devoted exclusively to the wine industry. His experience extends to industry mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, winery valuations and corporate finance. Vic Motto is an authority on the trade channels and distribution structure of the US wine market and a thought leader on the topic of the future evolution of distribution. His presentation at the 2005 Wine Marketing Conference will provide a review of the challenges and opportunities in the current USA wine distribution system, highlight the critical factors for success, offer insights into emerging distribution trends and suggest possible distribution innovation responses.
Sue Henderson, Grant Burge Wines
Although born in Australia, Sue has spent most of her life travelling around the world, looking for suitable partners. She is currently maintaining different distributor relationships in 25 countries and has a deep insight into the importance of careful research, selection and management. As one of Australia's leading wine marketers, Sue understands how to think globally, act locally and choose the right partner for a long term, meaningful relationship.
David Ridge, David Ridge Consulting
The winemaker-distributor relationship is a partnership based on a philosophy of co-ownership, trust and shared business goals. Winemakers must have realistic volume targets; distributors must understand the need to sell icon wines as well as value for money; both parties must work together to achieve an end goal of profitability. Appointing a distributor so "someone else can do the work" is not a route to market success - winemakers must sell themselves to their distributor and then get involved to build their brand. David Ridge's 20 year career in wine distribution gives him a unique insight into the dos and don'ts of successful wine distribution, which he will share with delegates.
David has had an active career in the hospitality wine wholesaling industry with Classic Wine Merchants, David Ridge Wines and Distinguished Vineyards since the late 70s. David has represented many great Australian wine names including Primo Estate, Henschke, Petaluma, Cullen, Cape Mentelle, Giaconda, Knappstein and Shaw and Smith. David is also involved in importing and selling many of the great wines of France and Italy.
Chris Hancock, Southcorp
A compatriot of Max Schubert, a campaigner during the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s and now a pillar of integrity and experience in Southcorp, Chris has seen it all over a 40 year career, convincing the world that Australia can make great wine.
Vicki Arnold, Glaetzer Heartland Wines
After a stellar career in Negociants International where she opened doors and closed sales for some of Australia's leading brands, Vicki now represents a premium portfolio of handmade wines from South Australia's heartland regions. Her success has been all about mixing it with the blokes and never forgetting that a sense of humour is worth as much as a big expense account.
Wolf Blass AM, Wolf Blass Foundation
From his humble beginnings in a galvo shed at Nuriootpa in 1966, Wolf Blass developed a winemaking legacy that has included four Jimmy Watson Trophies and the mantle of the world's best winemaker at the International Wine and Spirits Competition on two occasions, 1992 and 2002. Acknowledged as one of the world's great wine industry characters, at 70 he has never lost sight of the need to talk directly to his customers and continues to hit the road representing Beringer Blass as an international ambassador. Hear him recount some of the golden moments of a life preaching the word about Australian wine.
Jane Ferrari, Yalumba Wine Company
The Australian wine industry's answer to Paul Hogan, Jane Ferrari has been Yalumba's marketer at large for four years, coasting the globe wowing the trade and media with her infectious enthusiasm, outstanding product knowledge and disarming frankness.