A Rare Treat
Mähler-Besse’s portfolio of rare and premium wines is making steady inroads into travel-retail. Lisa Phillips reports
Mähler-Besssse boasts more than a century of experience in the production and sale of fine wines, but the French Bordeaux specialist is a relatively new addition to travel-retail. With just eight years’ experience under its belt, the family-owned company is fixing its sights on becoming a player to be reckoned with.
Travel-retail already accounts for 10% of total company turnover, and is growing by a steady 2% each year. According to duty-free and travel-retail manager Frédérik Mähler-Besse, this is probably because the sector is becoming more well-informed about rare wines. And when it comes to rare wines, Mähler-Besse is your company. Its current travel-retail offer in the Aelia shops at Charles de Gualle, for instance, includes an €18,000 bottle of Mouton Rothschild 1945. This luxury box was designed exclusively for Aelia and, says Mähler-Besse, has been a great success. At more accessible levels, the company’s labels include own brands Cheval Noir and Château Palmer, as well as a large range of well-known Grands Crus Classés.
Over the years it has also acquired famous Bordeaux names including Château D’Arche, Château Picard and Château La Couronne, as well as two Spanish wines, Taja from Jumilla and Oro from Toro. Mähler-Besse is also gaining credibility with a modest range of spirits including Castle Brands products,
Glenfarclas Single Highland Malt and Mason’s Scotch whisky. It is currently developing an exclusive new gift box co-branded between S.T Dupont and Château Palmer, which Mähler-Besse expects to be on-shelf in the next few months.
“Our range of products goes from mid-level to very premium wines,” says Mähler-Besse. “In domestic markets we distribute our wines through importers to the best hotels, restaurants and wine retailers.”
The brand’s premium range has gained a fairly secure foothold in French, European, Asian and Russian travel-retail sectors, no doubt building on Mähler-Besse’s already strong domestic presence.
The French market currently accounts for 35% of total domestic sales, with the rest of Europe accounting for just 20%. After Europe comes North America, also with a 20% share of business; the Far and Middle East, accounting for 15%; and Russia, with 5%. Smaller markets bring in the final 5% of sales.
Aelia and Gebr Heinemann, says Mähler-Besse, are the travel-retailers showing the most significant growth with the company’s brands, “probably because they are close to the production and have a long term knowledge of wine retailing”.
Current market trends and consumer interest in expensive luxury wines are paving the way for further Mähler-Besse growth in travel-retail. The company has set its sights on developing the Asian market in particular, followed by the Americas and the Middle East, where the company’s domestic presence is already well-established. It is in the process of developing marketing tools, co-branding projects and duty-free exclusives to add weight to its current offer, and has a vision to become a more active and innovative wine merchant within the competitive travel-retail wine sector.
Company forecasts reflect this, with last year’s total sales jumping by 25%, and a similar double-digit increase expected for 2008/2009.
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