Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/450857
Key Indicators A nnual off-premise sales of domestic wine grew to $7.9 billion in 2014 at stores tracked by IRI, the Chicago, Ill.- based market-research firm. The total was up $396 million compared to 2013, and the growth rate slowed by a point to 5%. Both table wine and sparkling wine saw 5% growth. A relatively slow growth rate of 3% in the month of December helped drag the 12-month growth rate down from 6%, where it had been since May. The off-premise sales growth rate was 7% for 2013 as a whole, so it shrank by a relatively large proportion while remaining well above the imported table wine growth rate of 2%. Domestic table wines held 81% market share by value in 2014, while imports claimed 19% in the multiple-outlet and convenience stores monitored by IRI. California wines ac- counted for 73% market share, Washington state 5% and Oregon 1%. Italy was the strongest country in import sales, with 6% market share and 4% sales growth, followed by Australia with 5% share and sales shrinkage of 6%. New Zealand had just 2% market share, but its sales grew by 24% in 2014. Seven of the eight best-selling wine vari- etals and types brought higher revenues in the off-premise channel during 2014. These figures include both domestic and imported wines. Merlot was the only one of the eight to shrink in sales, coming down by 3% but still totaling $677 million in stores tracked by IRI. The leader, Chardonnay, stayed on top and grew by 3%, while No. 2 Cabernet grew by 9%, steadily gaining on Chardonnay. We included sparkling wine to show that it would be No. 4 2 014 was a good year to be looking for a job in the U.S. wine industry, especially for winemakers. The year ended with 14% growth over 2013 for 12-month hiring activity, according to Winejobs.com. In Decem- ber alone the Winery Job Index rose 27% from December 2013, more than making up for a temporary dip of 5% in November. The subcat- egory of winemaking jobs grew the most. Winemaking job activity grew by 27% dur- ing 2014 as a whole, finishing the year with 54% growth in November. After an eight-month slump, sales and mar- keting job activity was 25% higher in December than in December 2013. Hiring in direct-to-consumer sales, winery tasting rooms and retail decreased 4% in Decem- ber compared to December 2013 but increased 25% for the most recent 12-month period. Off-Premise Sales Winery Job Index Complete data is available at winesandvines.com/metrics metrics 10 Wines&Vines February 2015 Wine Industry Economic Indicators Finish 2014 Higher Single-digit growth in off-premise sales and double-digit growth in both direct-to-consumer sales and the Winery Job Index characterized the 2014 year-end metrics. DtC shipments experienced a 2014 rate of growth of 15% and passed $1.8 billion in value. The Winery Job Index rose by 14%, a difficult feat after growing by 27% in 2013. Off-premise sales rose too, but their rate of growth has slowed. Growth Rate of Domestic Wine in Off-Premise Sales Slows to 5% 2014 Hiring Activity Beat 2013 by 14% Off-Premise Sales MOntH Dec. 2014 $776M Dec. 2013 $755M 12 MOntHS Dec. 2014 $7,866M Dec. 2013 $7,470M MOntHly SAlES 3% 5% Winery Job Index MOntH Dec. 2014 155 Dec. 2013 122 12 MOntHS Dec. 2014 229 Dec. 2013 200 MOntHly InDEx 27% 14% Source: winejobs.com Direct-to-Consumer Shipments MOntH Dec. 2014 $166M Dec. 2013 $145M 12 MOntHS Dec. 2014 $1,820M Dec. 2013 $1,576M MOntHly SHIPMEntS 14% 15% winejobs.com Index 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 2014 2013 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Source: , Wines Vines Analytics $ Millions $800 $700 $600 $500 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2013 2014 $ Millions $300 $250 $200 $150 $100 $50 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Source: Wines Vines Analytics/ShipCompliant 2014 2013