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Wilhelm Lerner: "Spain must promote its wines on the German market with patience and on the long term"

This is only one of the strategies that the consultant who is specialized in the wine industry pointed out during the conference "Building scale in the German wine market", which was hosted at Fenavin so that Spanish wineries can accelerate growth on one of the most important markets for our wines.

Wilhem Lerner, Graduate of Viniculture and Enology by the Geisenheim University and whose professional trajectory has taken place within the frame of commercialization of wine, marketing and strategic consulting, imparted the conference "Building scale in the German wine market" at FENAVIN today. The objective behind the lecture was to provide the Spanish wineries with the necessary keys to achieve sound growth on the German market.

Thus it was that the current Representative of "Centroeuropa de Estrategia y Organización" (Central Europe for Strategy and Organization) pertaining to the international consultancy firm Arthur D. Little analyzed the structure of the market and the German consumers, the current situation of Spanish wines in the same and the most effective strategies in order to obtain good positions within one of the markets that imports the most wine in the world. "Golden Kaam, the South African wine brand, is a good example to follow, as their long term approach and the way they present the country and the brand, are indeed absolutely appropriate methods."

Lerner highlighted that the German market is a very peculiar one, as "to begin with it has low prices and a market structure that cannot be compared to any other market in any other country. We are different and it is impossible to establish parallelisms." This is why it is important that not only the wineries and cooperatives get involved in the matter of introducing themselves in the German market. "Work should be jointly carried out and the entire country should become involved through its institutions," he added.

As an example of a job well done he praised Félix Solís. "The process that Félix Solís is carrying out in Germany has been developed step-by-step, and it can be seen that the strategy is a cautious, clear-cut one, above all, on the long term." He also underscored that its processes are now starting to be observed in Germany.

Spain's holds the fourth position at a European level in that pertaining to exports, right behind Germany, France and Italy. "However, the group of Germans who drink Spanish wines is still much smaller than that of other countries, reason why you must continue working on exporting," Lerner continued.

Therefore, according to the specialized consultant, Spain must work on a campaign in which the country will be highly visible, either globally or region by region, to then continue with the presentation of the different brands and Designations of Origin. "In fact, Spain offers wines with very good and special qualities, reason why it must also increase their value, even more so at a time in which the place of origin of the wines is again gaining in importance," Lerner concluded, aware as he is that our country is the most important producer of wines worldwide.