SA PRICE-POINT CRISIS
29, October 2003 By Jack Hibberd

Bruce Jack, the charismatic winemaker at Flagstone winery in False Bay, has
warned that ‘around half of the companies [exhibiting at the Wines of South Africa
tasting] will not be here next year if their wines keep selling at their current price
points’. He said a lot of companies had sacrificed profits for market share but that
this was unsustainable.
Jack reminded the audience at the WOSA seminar (see above) that South Africa has
the lowest average price point ‘of all the New World countries’ and that the increasing
strength of the rand was fast eroding margins.
‘The industry faces a choice,’ he said. ‘We either become price-focused and
increase efficiency or we become perception-focused,’ which requires better
marketing.




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