Wine producers band together to sell online
June 2, 2014 Leave a comment
Wine producers band together to sell online
Published 30 May 2014 14:12, Updated 30 May 2014 14:27
Simon Evans
The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, which represents 2500 wine companies, has enlisted 60 producers for an online venture enabling direct sales to the public for companies that may have been bruised by the bigger supermarket chains.
One of the major concerns of the federation is the rising power of large liquor retailers owned by Coles and Woolworths and the battle by wine producers to get space on their shelves. The venture with Victorian information technology pioneer John Cameron is designed to give them an alternative means to sell wine.
Chairman Tony D’Aloisio, a former chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, said the “From the Producer” site had no middle man involved and enabled wine companies to sell their products to the public and keep all the profits.
“This is an alternative option that we’re bringing on,” he says.
He says each company would need to make their own decisions about the route to market.
He did not think it would compromise existing sales channels that wine companies had, or their relationships with retailers if they became part of the website.
“It’s not about cannibalising their business either,” he says.
Cameron, an entrepreneur who helped develop automated trading systems for the Australian Securities Exchange when it replaced physical trading floors, says it was a simple system that gave companies more choice.
Kirsty Balnaves, a director of wine producer Balnaves of Coonawarra in south-eastern South Australia, said the website was crucial for the family winery because of the distance from major population centres of Melbourne and Adelaide in attracting visitors.
“That’s a very real challenge for us,” she says.
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