As far as strategy is concerned, Viña Morandé has been carrying out its commercial activities under the banner "time for something new" for over four years, supported by the slogan "our tradition is innovation" and/or "challenge your habits". Considering both of these, a change was only to be expected after 7 vintages with the same presentation in its main products.
The technical aspects: As a way of giving the Pionero line
a new boost and achieving better positioning in the various markets
(local and international), the blends of wines were significantly
improved as from the 2002 vintage, vinifying grapes entirely from
specific valleys, now almost all from Maipo and Casablanca, and
leaving behind the concept of the Central Valley. More ageing of
the wine in Wood has also been introduced, specifically American
and French oak used for the second and third time, giving the wine
greater complexity and structure and allowing Pionero to be presented
to the market as RESERVE-quality wine
In the case of Dueto, from the technical point of view the line
has been redefined, eliminating the Merlot variety and introducing
Carmenère, since this latter variety is more attractive commercially
and because in fact the grapes used historically for Merlot actually
corresponded to the Carmenère variety. On the other hand, greater
emphasis will be given to red varieties over white, and specifically
to Pinot Noir.
Changes in the Industry: Since the moment when Pionero came
onto the market in 1998, the industry has seen great changes, most
of them motivated by a larger number of competitors in the fine
wines segment. As a result of this, many wanted to create differentiation
in varietal wines, using different-coloured labels/grape variety,
as a consequence of which Pionero lost one of its most important
elements of differentiation and is at present being offered with
a fairly common code with low perceived value.
The above also directly
affects the Dueto line.
Trends: In the wine industry, as in many other industries, the trend has been to present products in an increasingly simple way as regards design, with more accessible information and ever more modern codes; in other words, in as clean a way as possible, in order to simplify the customers' decision. This has been even more marked in the wine industry, due to the need to differentiate the labels of the new world, versus those of the old world, which are in essence almost indecipherable for customers.
Market Situation: It is no less important to recognize that
due to the price situation of raw materials, the last 3 years have
been marked by stiff price competition, causing many products, including
Pionero, to lose its original positioning. I would like to remind
you that in 1998 Pionero had a shelf-price of $2450, which at present
value is worth over $2800 in real currency. This is not appropriate
to the efforts that have been made at the level of the product and
means that repositioning our wine in its original segment is essential,
giving it more perceived value and transforming it once again into
the Pionero that it was originally.
In this case in particular, the Dueto line would not be affected
by a positioning problem.
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