My brother used to live in Sweden and when, ten years ago, I saw and heard about the Systembolaget stores I recoiled at the regulation and perceived lack of choice offered by the system.
Last week, I was back in Stockholm to meet with our new distributors and as part of the learning process, we visited a flagship store to assess the opportunities and challenges. I have to say that in general I was impressed. Pricing was not as high as anticipated, the choice was extensive, imaginatively ranged and inclusive of a great many big names and ultra premium selections.
The biggest difference of course is in the balance of formats that wine is sold in. Bag in box accounts for 60% in Sweden! But to call some of the formats "bag in box" is to do them an injustice as the innovation and creativity far outweighs anything that we see here in the UK.
In past blog posts, I have raised the issue of the lack of imagination in terms of packaging in the UK as being at the heart of our retail woes - what other industry uses essentially the same packaging to sell entry level products and luxury products? Whether our wine is £4 or £40 we package it in a 75cl glass bottle and expect the consumer to decipher whether the gloss of the label is authentic or little more than lipstick on a pig.
I'm with other commentators who have suggested that we really do need to encourage a move to alternative packages for everyday wine, not only for the opportunity it would give all of us to motivate trading up but also for environmental reasons.
5 comments:
Have to agree with you on that - I look forward to more innovation here too. Unfortunately someone has to make a real commitment to it as it will have to be better wine in very good alternatives - not more bulk wine in cheap cardboard if we are to convince consumers.
Who will step up?
As a wine and drinks gift packaging producer, we see a gulf between those independent wine retailers that have already 'cottoned' onto how they can make extra profits through gifting, and those who don't even bother.
I know you're primarily talking about the bottle itself, and I'd agree it's bizarre that we don't differentiate between 'how' we offer it. But as an aside, The outer packaging can also be a good way for retailers to differentiate between value and price points - they can easily increase perceived value simply by displaying it in wood casing for example or alongside gift bags. Many of our clients have had great successes increasing sales by doing so.
I think what you point to is superficially perhaps the most remarkable thing in the range.
But the biggest difference is really the paucity of the range.
What you saw was essentially the full range of wines *in the entire country*. Imagine if you only had the Waitrose line of wines in every single store.
Go around the corner from that flagship store to the next wine shop and it is the same wines. But only, at best, a quarter of the range.
It make look nice if you see the biggest shop in the country but in reality it is a very, very limited range. Because that's all there is.
Someone living in a mid-size city in Sweden recently remarked that in the shop in his town there were four (4) wines above 20 euros. Three were amarones (!) and the fourth was a Barolo Fontanafredda.
Yes, the range is better than it was 20 years ago. But it is still only a small fraction of what it would be if there was not a monopoly.
-Per
Per,
Many thanks for your comments which I totally understand. Where I was coming from was that in terms of appropriate packaging to allow for consumer understanding of why it is worth paying a premium, Sweden is more advanced than the UK where most of what is sold is sold in 75cl glass bottles.
Giles,
I do understand that. And it's a good point I think.
It was just that one so often hears from fans of the Swedish monopoly the argument "just look at all the foreign visitors that are impressed by the range of wines at Systembolaget; obviously we must have one of the world's best wine ranges in Sweden". And forget (or don't understand) that in any normal country you would just go around the corner and find a different selection. I just couldn't let it pass without comment.
If that 60% of wines are sold in bib (or similar) is a curious thing, then even more curious is the fact that 60%, or even more, of Swedes think that the monopoly is great. And are convinced that it is much better than a free market for range and quality.
But perhaps not so odd after all since they (the Systembolaget) spend tens of millions each year on propaganda campaigns telling the public how great the monopoly is.
Apologies for having hijacked your thread for something that was not your original intention.
-Per
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