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INTERNATIONAL. The Moodie Report today announces a major initiative in the travel retail wine category, in an effort to champion and advance best practice.
The Moodie Wine Project is an overarching brand conceived by The Moodie Report Chairman Martin Moodie, a passionate wine lover, that over the next year will feature a wide range of interviews, columns (in-house and guest), store & buyer profiles, Blogs, tastings, specific and targeted awards, workshops and other projects, all designed to raise wine’s profile in the channel.
“Wine, especially fine wine, is a category with very exciting incremental potential for travel retailers,” said Martin Moodie. “However, far too often it is poorly ranged, badly merchandised and sold by staff with little knowledge. Where retailers do believe and invest in it, the results can be stunning, with surprisingly high average transaction values generated by travellers buying for gifting or self-purchase.
“Wine also has considerable untapped potential as a great destination merchandise item,” Moodie continued. “Yet how often in a wine-producing region or country do we see local and national wines badly under-ranged and presented?
“Wine is a strong personal passion of mine and I believe its time has come in travel retail. The Moodie Wine Project seeks to showcase excellence, challenge mediocrity and generally raise the profile of wine in the channel, often in a fun and innovative manner,” he concluded.
The Moodie Wine Project will feature prominently on all Moodie platforms, including web, e-Zine, print and the digital edition of print. In coming weeks we will feature major interviews with Masi Agricola President and Managing Director Sandro Boscaini, a famed wine figure known as ‘Mr Amarone’; an in-depth tasting session of Craggy Range from New Zealand and Taylors from Australia; and several store reviews.
A NEW JOURNEY FOR WINE
One of the key initiatives is My Wine Journey, a new regular column in association with Treasury Wine Estates, which launches today (see below) and will appear regularly on The Moodie Report.com and in The Moodie e-Zine. My Wine Journey will feature leading buyers and other travel retail executives discussing their love of wine and its presentation and future in travel retail.
We begin the series with LS travel retail Pacific General Manager Duty Free Ivo Favotto, a lover of fine wines, who has ensured the category gets first-class treatment in his stores.
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The Moodie Report: How did you first become interested in wine?
Ivo Favotto: I was working in a bottle shop (off licence) in Sydney trying to pay my way through university. Beer was the most popular product sold but wine was starting to emerge as part of the Australian drinking culture. Being of Italian heritage, I was already into Dad’s home brew and had stomped on a few grapes in my youth. You can guess that it was not the most salubrious part of Sydney from the fact that the most popular wine SKU was a five-litre cask! Another great Aussie invention.
Do you remember the first bottle to truly make an impression on you?
Yes, I got a free bottle of Leibfrauwine from the vendor for selling the most bottles in a month. It was (by my standards today) sickly sweet but I loved it at the time. My then girlfriend (now wife of 24 years) thought I was very cool drinking this fancy European wine. That didn’t last long (her thinking that I was cool of course).
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“It has to be one of the most under-done categories. It’s done well in some locations – but it’s not a category for the faint-hearted“ |
Ivo Favotto General Manager Duty Free LS travel retail Pacific |
What is your most memorable wine experience?
The bad experiences when I have over-indulged will always stay with me of course but there have been many memorable experiences. As I said, I was working at this not so fancy bottle shop in western Sydney. I worked there for four years and finally graduated from Uni and got what my dad called a “proper job” as an economist.
At the end of the four years, the proprietor offered me – as a gift for my service – one of anything in the store. There was a dusty red wine that had been in the corner since my first day in the store. A bottle of 1980 Grange I think. Our clientele didn’t really know what Grange was back then but I was well aware. So I picked the Grange. The proprietor said to me: “Are you sure you want that dusty old thing? It’s probably gone off. Why not take a carton of beer instead?”. I assured him I was happy to take it off his hands as obviously no-one wanted to buy it. He thought I was doing him a favour.
I still have the bottle to this day tucked away in my cellar. One day, I will get the good folks at Penfolds to come and have a look at it. Not sure if I will ever drink it. I’ve got great value from this story over the years and that seems enough!
If you had the chance to visit a wine-producing country/region, where would it be and why?
Ahh, so many choices. I have visited and loved the wine regions of Europe – France, Italy, Germany, Spain etc. I have visited and loved the wine regions in the Americas – USA, Chile, Argentina etc. I have also visited the wine regions of my homeland – the Barossa Valley, Margaret River, the Hunter Valley etc. But for me I can’t get enough of the Central Otago region in Queenstown. It offers spectacular scenery with very contemporary wine-tasting experiences. And those hospitable Kiwis of course!
Your favourite wine and why?
Ahh, so many choices! I love my collection of the more serious wines but my favourite thing is to find a great wine at an everyday price. My local wine-store chain (Vintage Cellars) is currently doing a Pinot Noir from Central Otago as part of its chalkboard series which highlights classic wines from specific regions. It’s around A$15 a bottle and great everyday drinking. But I always bring out the Penfolds for special occasions.
Where do you usually buy your wine?
I try to buy in our duty free stores as much as I can. And although I travel quite frequently, allowance restrictions mean that I cannot match supply with demand via this method if you know what I mean. So I buy in my local wine store and from time to time, I buy from online auctions.
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(Left to right): Ivo Favotto (second from right) with Queenstown Airport CEO Scott Paterson; Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Vanessa van Uden and LS travel retail group CEO for the Pacific Matthieu Mercier at the 2013 opening of LS travel retail’s new Queenstown Airport duty free store in New Zealand, which features a superb wine offer, focused on the Central Otago region |
What is your opinion of the wine category in travel retail?
It has to be one of the most under-done categories. It’s done well in some locations – but it’s not a category for the faint-hearted. You need to invest a lot of time and effort in consumer education. But it’s worth it, especially in airports that serve famous wine regions where the wine is as much a great gift/souvenir as anything else.
What is your favourite airport for wine retail and why?
I have three: Le Clos at Dubai Airport, the Buy Paris Duty Free wine cave in Charles de Gaulle Terminal S4 in Paris, and of course Aelia Duty Free at Queenstown Airport (small but sweet).
What does the future of wine in travel retail look like?
Curation. I think a wine offer needs to be curated to lead the customer on a journey. You have to educate customers on why each wine is special. And tasting has to become a much bigger part of the game. Labour costs in an airport environment will always be an issue but we are working on ways to crack this nut!
You have a table for two reserved on the beach at an idyllic desert island resort. What wine, what food?
Not sure what you mean by desert island resort. An island that is deserted? Or an island that is a desert?
Anyway, I would always go for a hot and cold seafood platter. Oysters, prawns, lobster, Moreton Bay bugs, calamari, octopus, tuna sashimi, cooked snapper (and a few fries with that please). For the wine, can’t go past Cloudy Bay Te Koko.
FOOTNOTE: If you would like to feature in My Wine Journey please e-mail Martin Moodie at: Martin@TheMoodieReport.com. We welcome all wine lovers to participate from all sectors of the travel retail community.
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Vintage retailing: Earlier this year LS travel retail Pacific partnered with top Central Otago winery Gibbston Valley winery and Queenstown Airport to open a pop-up wine store in the domestic terminal. Passengers could taste and purchase the full range of Gibbston Valley wines while a home-delivery service was available for any customers who wish to buy wine by the case |
