That half-price bottle on the supermarket shelves may not be such a bargain after all
Supermarkets are gluttons for market share and utilise any and every ploy to get it - that is how they dominate the wine trade here and in Britain. However, all that glistens is not gold, and consumers should be aware of the true value of what they are buying.
Jean-Manuel Spriet, chief executive of major player Pernod Ricard UK, observed last year that in Britain bottles supposedly reduced from £7.99 to £3.99 were often worth only £3.99 in the first place. So customers who believed they were getting a great deal were actually paying the market price. Mr Spriet was quoted as saying: "Consumers know they are getting misled . . . they get used to it." This cynical view is probably depressingly accurate. Consumers faced with what many perceive to be the complexities of wine-buying - red/white, vintage, country, area, style - just give up and opt for the "bargain".
As a recent article in the Guardian outlined, the practice of "marking up, only to mark down" has been rife for years, but consumers should remember that in most cases cheap wine is cheap for a reason - it was cheap in the first place. Actually there is a second reason. As Andrew Jefford notes in this month's Decanter, some supermarkets prey on the vulnerability of exposed producers and force them to accept deals with little profit margin. The producer is faced with the Hobson's choice of taking what is on offer or being left with the unsold wine.
"The overall trend is clear," writes Jefford, "more profit to the retailer, less to the producer. We are dominated by piggy supermarkets which gobble up the weaklings in their own farrow; it is only suppliers who furnish new life in retail. Britain's wine trade, in this respect, is sick. And who's to blame? It lies with you and me. We fall for it every time. Next time you see a 'bargain', think it through. Say no, go elsewhere, pay more, and help create fair, sustainable and mutually advantageous trading relationships."
However, David Orr, Superquinn's wine buyer, says it is "important to remember that the UK wine market when it comes to offers/promotions is very different to the Irish market. Their wine sales are now primarily driven by price promotion. Whereas there is still stability in the Irish market - the consumer still wants quality wine, even on promotion."
Orr may be correct in saying that the Irish market is not driven by price to the same extent as that of our neighbour, but Tesco, Dunnes Stores and even Superquinn are not averse to the occasional "half-price" headline price cut. No doubt these stores are taking the hit in lost profits . . . perish the thought that it could be otherwise.
