Net sales that do not include excise duties are believed to be the most relevant indicator of this industry.
Turnover in the first four months stood at almost RON20 million (EUR4.7 million), up 15% as a result of the excise duty hike operated in July 2010.
“The start of the year was difficult for Prodvinalco, but we were less affected by the blows the industry took than the rest of the market because of our brand positioning and of the strategy we used,” said Andi Dascal, general manager of Cluj-based Prodvinalco. “Whereas the entire market dropped 16% in volume, we dropped 2% (sales to wholesalers in January-April 2011 compared with January-April 2011 i.e.).”
The company has twelve brands in its portfolio, having launched five since the beginning of the year. Product launches came at a difficult time, when the market went down even more than the company had anticipated.
“The beginning of 2011 was extremely difficult for the spirits market, not to say a disaster; even though we had expected the market to continue its decline, the decline was much more serious than we had anticipated,” Dascal said. “Whereas the decline in volume stood at 20% in 2010 compared with 2009, in the first quarter of 2011, the market fell by 16% compared with the same time last year.” He thus specified that market practically reached its lowest point in a decade. (EUR1=RON4.2037)