Global Market Review of Champagne - Forecasts to 2012(2)

Chapter 3 The companies
All of the major Champagne producers are profiled. Information includes: turnover, sales, domestic/export split, brands profiled and vineyard holdings. Analysis of the company is provided by just-drinks and by the companies themselves (a ""in their words"" section provides extracts of interviews with each company).

Chapter 4 Production
Like most French wine-producing regions, Champagne has a wealth of strategies, plans and controls designed to keep a tight rein on production and to give the industry the quantity and quality of grapes that it needs to meet international demand, year after year.

But this remains a geographically marginal viticultural area, where weather, in the form of frost, hail and rain, can decimate a year’s crop and throw the plans of grower and shipper alike into chaos.

Champagne, however, has been relatively fortunate in recent times. Over the past ten years, annual production has only fallen below 300m bottles on two occasions, in 2001 and in 2003, the latter when frost, hail and heat created a tiny crop with a yield of only just over 8,000kg/ha.

Given how critical production is to the sector, this chapter provides a complete review of the key issues the Champenois faces. Also provided is production data covering vineyard production, yield and grape price from 1998 to 2007 and Champagne stocks 2000-2007.

Chapter 5 The economy
We felt the report would not be complete without a specific chapter covering what is turning out to be exceptional economic conditions facing the sector. Global recessions are bad news for consumer goods in general, and Champagne’s luxury positioning makes it by no means immune to the effects of an economic downturn.

Find out whether or not Champagne has the situation under control.

Chapter 6 Rosé Champagne
As Champagne sales have risen around the world since 2002, one market segment has stood head and shoulders above all others in terms of development and dynamic growth: rosé.

Export volumes of pink Champagne trebled between 2000 and 2006, with another double-digit volume rise in 2007. Responsible for a measly 3% of export sales in 2000, rosé Champagne accounts for 7.5% of overseas volumes today.

The spread of markets in which it has an established position is expanding too. “It’s well-established in mature countries, but it’s developing fast in the emerging countries,” says Jean Berchon, corporate communications director at Moët & Chandon.
“The base is broadening… It used to be a trend, a flashy thing to last three or four years.” Similarly, Groupe Thiénot president Alain Thiénot recalls the soaraway success of rosé in Italy about 20 years ago. “It crashed down just as fast,” he recalls ruefully. But now, in markets like Japan, rosé accounts for nearly one in every eight bottles of Champagne sold.

This chapter looks at how the major houses are tackling the current interest in this growing segment. Exports and market share data are provided from 2000 to 2007.

Chapter 7 Protection of the appellation
Find out how the Champagne producers are stepping up the fight to protect their appellation.