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JANUARY NEWS How to Build a Wine Brand Former executive with Mark West offers rules for establishing brand presence N apa, Calif.���To successfully sell a wine brand or winery, the owners need to know how much their company is worth and also build a strong brand image. At a November presentation organized by The Seminar Group, experts offered tips about finding the value of a company and how to create a strong brand. Ron Janowczyk, senior vice president of Purple Wine Co. (whose founder, Dennis Carroll, sold Blackstone for $144 million and then Mark West for $160 million to Constellation), presented the following rules about brand building: 1. void multi-state distributor agreements. A Most buyers will have their own distributors, and it can be difficult and expensive to get out of existing deals. 2. et the press to talk about you���both in G print and online. Good press starts with a compelling story. 3. tay domestic. Prospective buyers may S wonder why you���re pursuing less profitable foreign business. Can���t you compete domestically? Also, most buyers have their own international efforts and would Skolnik_Dir10_Jan10.qxd 10/19/09 10:04 AM Page 1 just have to abandon yours. 4. eek out the best ���B��� and ���C��� distributors who do a good S job (and pay you!) You���ll get lost with a big distributor, and any buyer can estimate the boost the brand will get when they add your winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords brand to their network. ���brand building.��� 5. aintain limited staff. A buyer would M prefer not to fire redundant staff or absorb them in most cases. They���ve got their people and want to leverage your brand. 6. alue data on wine sold, not shipped. V 7. queeze your programming dollar. Support your brand with S tastings, visits and cooperative promotion with resellers that pay off, not discounts. 8. aintain a disciplined channel strategy. Do one thing well, M either three-tier or direct. Just because a retailer wants to sell your wine doesn���t mean you should give it to him, particularly if he will highly discount the retail price. Mark West was five or six years old before it went to grocery chains. ���We were already strong in by-the-glass and independent wine shops,��� Janowczyk said. 9. imit your product line. Mark West sold 600,000 cases of L Pinot Noir and a little Chardonnay. Blackstone sold mostly Merlot. ���Nothing creates more value than a big focus on one product.��� Mergers and acquisitions expert Mario Zepponi of Zepponi & Co. said one common pitfall for wine brands is lacking a distinctive identity or clear distribution strategy. Another issue is failure to protect trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property. Fast-growing brands often struggle with inadequate working capital and grape supply. Zepponi suggested balancing the winegrape market between estate vineyards, contracts and spot market sources. ���Paul Franson ���People, Product, Profit Without top people, you cannot do much with the others.��� - Malcolm Forbes S TA I N L E S S S T E E L C O O P E R A G E Provid ing l ead i n g w i n e m a kers with stainless steel barrels of high quality, durability, and design. SKOLNIK INDUSTRIES, INC. 4900 SOUTH KILBOURN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60632-4593 PHONE 773.735.0700 FAX 773.735.7257 TOLL FREE 1.800.441.8780 HTTP://WINEDRUM.SKOLNIK.COM EMAIL: SALES@SKOLNIK.COM SEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #1413 30 W in e s & V i ne s JANUARY 20 13 WWW.RECRUITINGASSOCIATESNETWORK.COM Tel: 707-931-4707 822 College Avenue, Ste. B, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Discover the Difference of Our Specialized Services: ��� ��� ��� ��� It���s Our Niche It���s Our Network It���s Our Approach It���s Our Guarantee! SEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #725 u