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The View From Our Yard
Spring has Sprung! |
In addition to being great pets and amazing companions, the Portuguese Water Dog has been known for centuries as a working dog. Referred to as the Cao de Agua('dog of water') along Portugal's coast, Portieswere bred to accompany fisherman on their boats - to retrieve broken nets, dive for fish, carry messages between boats and to shore, as well as guard the boat in foreign ports. Here in America, Porties have evolved beyond their status as mere 'working dogs.' Some play basketball: http://bit.ly/3dACd. Others are training to sing: http://bit.ly/rTVEL. A few have even been known as great skateboarders: http://bit.ly/13032j. And, of course, many of them still channel their European ancestors and prefer water sports like pool relay races http://bit.ly/GGDdoand diving for rocks http://bit.ly/u1HMd. Portuguese Water Dog puppies are insanely cute: http://bit.ly/ZCRpWand http://bit.ly/1aSeOf. Ours? Like the others, Ripley and Romie love the ocean and are both accomplished ball players. But, more than anything, they enjoy hanging out with family, taking up most of the available space on a king-sized bed, sharing some pizza crust with friends or family - and , of course, each other.
"I never taste the wine first in restaurants. I just ask the waiter to pour."
- Nigella Lawson
"No nation was ever drunk when wine was cheap."
-Thomas Jefferson |
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A "Game-Changer:"
Prepare for a Paradigm Shift in the
187ml [Single-Serve] Wine World
A unique, new 187ml package in which the drinking glass also serves as the screw top/cap for the bottle is about to debut.
Vino Solo will soon be available at major retailers, supermarkets, airlines, hotels, food service and hospitality, sports venue and corporate meetings/events sectors.
"Wow!" and "Cool" have been the consistent early reviews.
Combining a stylish and contemporary feel, this single-serve unit offers convenience and freshness, together with inventory and freight efficiencies never before offered in the wine industry.
For retailers, the merchandising and cross-promotion opportunities afforded by this proprietary new KDM Global Partners program are also compelling. The 187ml wine category has tripled in size between 2004 and last year.
Food & Beverage managers, facility managers, airlines and hotels have quickly come on board with the advantages of this product. Some of difference-makers are: (i) PET is 1/6th the weight of glass, drastically reducing freight costs; (ii) the product is environmentally friendly (recyclable); (iii) the product dispenses with inventory management of separate wine glasses and their storage and transport requirements; (iv) it dramatically reduces service time: all that is required is for the tamper evident seal to be broken and the complete unit is handed to the customer; and (v) Storage Efficiencies: The entire bottle & wine flute uses the same space as a 187ml bottle and so saves the space that would otherwise be needed for storing drinking vessels.
Consumers love the convenience - especially for picnics,
home entertaining, outdoor events, camping, boating and travel. No need
to carry separate glasses and this bottle-and-glass combination takes up
only the same amount of space in the cooler as a 187ml bottle alone!
Oh...and the wine inside is top notch. Initial selections are a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend from Australia. And, beginning this summer, the product will also be bottled in Napa, California.
For product or program information, contact us at VinoSolo@KDMGlobalPartners.com or www.kdmglobalpartners.com/contact-kdm.
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Hotels and Resorts Turning to
Wine as a Key Profit Center
Many believe that the hospitality industry is a bellwether of the overall economy - restaurant spending, hotel stays and discretionary travel are some of the first things to be sacrificed when people and businesses are uncertain about the future. Thus, it is no surprise that on-premise wine sales are down, apparently a reflection both of fewer customers and smaller tabs.
For over a year now - and likely for the foreseeable future - the squeeze is on.
Hotels and resorts are battling back. They are discovering under-exploited - and painless - ways to locate hidden margin opportunities and profit centers to substitute for lost income - and to significantly improve the Food & Beverage operation's bottom line. http://bit.ly/kT5Ms.
One such opportunity is private label wine programs. For all aspects of a hotel/resort's wine sales (restaurant wine menu, wines-by-the-glass, catering, room service, meetings & events, pool beverage service), serving a proprietary "own brand" wine delivers multiple benefits while actually costing less than comparable 'national brands:' - Increased profit margins on house pour
- Enhances the property's "branding"
- Differentiates from the competition - serve a wine that is only available at your establishment!
- Eliminates "sticker shock" by your restaurant patrons when they recognize a wine they are familiar with and have purchased at retail - and notice that the restaurant/hotel is charging 300% more (typical on-premise margin) ... 'Not a recommended way to enhance customer loyalty in a bad economy!
- Ideal for banquet pour and events.
- Various price points, varietals and packaging are available with private label programs.
These programs are not only effective "survival tools" for hotel Food & Beverage operations but are also expected to become program staples - even after the economy comes back. They are "no-brainer" opportunities that are here to stay. http://bit.ly/5YkDfd |
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Retailers Increasingly Turning
to Private Label Wine
 Retailers are increasingly choosing to create and launch "own brand" wine for their stores. The trend is apparent for both large, national retail chains as well as "mom and pop" wine retailers.
Principal reasons for the rise of private label (PL) wine brands are: (1) retailers earn higher profits on private label wines designed especially for their stores - and the wines are better, dollar-for-dollar, than comparably-priced national brands; (2) PL wines cultivate customer loyalty and repeat business - since these products are ONLY available at the brand owner's place of business; and (3) the wines help to "brand" the store and differentiate it from the competition.
Costco is #1 in gross wine sales in the United States and has increased its offering under the house "Kirkland" brand. Since Costco's business model generally limits its stores' margins to approximately 15%, Costco's wine business has focused more on "in and out" selections of wine liquidation items, rather than building ongoing lines of domestic and imported varietal brands. Nonetheless, customers nationwide have turned to Costco for substantial wine purchases.
Everyone ignored the convenience store channel for its potential for wine sales. 7-Eleven felt otherwise and, a few years ago, introduced its proprietary "Thousand Oaks Vineyards" line of California varietal wines. Initially a simple Cabernet-Chardonnay-Merlot line, the Thousand Oaks brand has grown into a very successful line of eight (8) selections, sold nationwide in approximately 3,300 stores in 30 states (where permitted by law). Retailers everywhere now recognize the value and potential for PL Wines at their locations.
For a small wine retailer, especially, to ignore the opportunity of PL wine is to do so at its own peril. These shops are already fighting battles on many fronts - from losing customers to big box chains, supermarkets and larger "regional" wine retailers, to being squeezed for margins by the big brands (and wholesalers), to competing for sales with Web-based retailers.
To retain market share, wine retailers are now fighting back - and regaining business. By offering their own proprietary label wines, these stores are cultivating their customers' loyalty by offering PL products that can ONLY be purchased at their stores - and earning much higher margins in the process! Many of these stores are also setting up Web-based fulfillment mechanisms, where the wines can be shipped direct-to-consumers in other locations- another revenue-producing opportunity.
In addition, while most large wine programs often involve thousands of cases of custom productions, retailers now only need to commit to a few pallets of wine, thus limiting their upfront expenditure and allowing them to compete with the big players for a relatively low sum!
http://bit.ly/cAH9pR
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