Monthly Archive: May 2011

CEDC Q1 Sales Rise, Predicts Further Improvement

Central European Distribution Corp’s (CEDC) first-quarter sales rose 4.6% to $157 million, boosted by a turnaround in Poland, but the group still posted a $17 million loss on a comparable basis with the same period last year (on a reported basis, CEDC posted net income of $1.1 million for the quarter). Sales growth was driven by an 8% volume increase in vodka sales in Poland against a market that was down 6.5% for the quarter. New brand Zubrowka Biala was instrumental in that performance, and CEDC says more new brands and relaunches are in the pipeline for Poland over the course of the year.

“We believe we’ve turned the corner regarding our vodka growth and continue to see strong import growth from our leading import portfolio which represents over 46% of our Polish revenue base today,” said CEDC president and ceo William Carey.

Meanwhile, CEDC says it will launch two new products in Russia this summer and introduce new communication behind its biggest Russian brand, Green Mark vodka. The group’s import business in Russia (including Concha y Toro), performed especially well in the first quarter, rising 19%. Carey added that he expects to see improved performance in CEDC’s core markets of Poland, Russia and Hungary over the rest of the year.

News Briefs For May 4, 2011

• An Argentine court has ruled Spain cannot have exclusive rights to the Rioja name, allowing Argentina to regionally identify wines from its 35,000-square-mile province of La Rioja. Spain’s regulatory council of Rioja has been in the legal fight since 1999, arguing that the labeling would cause confusion with wines from Spain’s Rioja region. Continue reading →

The Changing Face Of The US Imported Vodka Market

While nearly every major spirits category in the U.S. market lost momentum in the past few years, imported vodka has been a notable exception. Imported vodka’s performance actually improved in 2008, 2009 and 2010, advancing by nearly 3 million cases in that period. Continue reading →

Pennsylvania Now Biggest Control State For Spirits As It Passes Michigan

Pennsylvania (+3.6% to 6.8 million cases) passed Michigan (+1.4% to 6.7 million cases) in 2010 to become the largest control state by spirits volume and dollar sales.

In Pennsylvania, value increased 2% to approximately $1.03 billion in 2010. Trends were healthy in the Keystone State, as customers traded up to super-premium spirits with growth of 4.4% in that tier during the year-end holiday season. Continue reading →

News Briefs For May 3, 2011

• U.S. brewer MillerCoors saw improvement in the first quarter of 2011 as its sales decline slowed to 0.1% to $1.69 billion and underlying net income grew 8.7% to $236 million, helped by cost reductions. Continue reading →

Total Wine & More to Break $1 Billion in Sales This Year

Shanken News Daily recently interviewed David Trone, co-owner of Total Wine & More, the largest privately-owned, multi-state beverage alcohol retailer in the U.S. Trone projects that total chain revenues will be slightly over $1 billion for calendar year 2011. Continue reading →