Champagne sales plummet in 2009

The German market seems to have been least affected by the global economic crisis: ranking third behind the UK and the U.S., exports to Germany dropped only 5.4 percent to 10.9 million bottles.

Fortunately, the French remained loyal to their champagnes and bought 181 million bottles, which is about the same number as in 2008. The Austrians, however, must have turned to other sparkling wines as exports to the Alpine republic dropped 44.2 percent to 675.046 bottles. Nevertheless, Austria still ranks 17th most important export market, ahead of markets like China, Russia, India and Brazil.

The champagne houses blame the discounting bonanza in many markets, especially on premium brands, as having affected turnover of champagnes adversely.

Fortunately, the large champagne stocks held by distributors n early 2009 have been reduced, which implies that the actual consumption of champagne will have been higher in 2009 than shipments from the region of Champagne indicate.

Sales patterns of champagne resemble closely that of jewellers. 30 percent of annual champagne sales, or 97.5 million bottles, were achieved in the months of November and December 2009 alone.

For 2010, French champagne houses expect a “meagre“ recovery given that consumption of the luxury tipple is closely related to the global economy.