Henkell Freixenet wheaters the crisis well as world market leader in sparkling wine
- Henkell Freixenet, in a context marked by the paralysis of tourism and the impact of the hotel industry, has limited the impact of the pandemic to a decrease of 7.4% in global turnover in 2020
- Sales of the Freixenet brand register a new sales maximum during 2020 after selling 99.3 million bottles with a growth of 5.1%
Wiesbaden/Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, April 28, 2021 – Henkell Freixenet has managed to resist the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic together and maintain its world leadership in sparkling wine. Despite the closure of the horeca channel, the paralysis of the market and restrictions on mobility and tourism, the company has demonstrated its capacity for resilience and has managed to limit the impact of the pandemic on sales with a global turnover of 1,195 million euros in 2020, 7.4% less than in 2019. After adjustment for consolidation and currency, this represents a decrease of 6.5%.
However, in terms of sales of the Freixenet brand, a new sales maximum was registered during 2020 despite the pandemic situation after selling 99.3 million bottles worldwide, representing a growth of 5.1% in comparison with the previous year. In this sense, the company highlights the good performance of the Freixenet Prosecco and Freixenet Italian Rosé brands in the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries and the Benelux region.
For its part, the still wine business of Freixenet also evolved positively after the successful international launch of the Freixenet Wine Collection, which triumphs in the UK, Germany and Brazil among other countries and which will soon arrive in Spain, and the sales growth of the already consolidated Freixenet Mederaño and Freixenet Mía in the German market. The increase in sales of still wines is explained as a result of the trend to enjoy wine at home as a direct effect of the pandemic.
The regional distribution of sales also reflected the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. While northern and central European countries benefited from travel restrictions, southern countries, dependent on tourism, suffered significant losses. The areas of America and Asia-Pacific have also seen their sales decline. The duty-free and airline business also suffered strongly.
In Spain, France and Italy, where the on-trade sector represents a high proportion of the business, sales fell due to the effects of closures and travel restrictions. Even so, in Spain the Freixenet brand (including cavas such as Cordon Negro, Carta Nevada, Freixenet ICE or Elyssia) maintained the leadership of the sparkling category. The Carta Nevada cava range was the best-seller and stands out the success of the new Carta Rosé cava, the best launch in the sparkling category in 2020 according to IRI data. In the United Kingdom, sales of the Freixenet brands and “I heart” wines (which are also distributed in Spain) registered strong double-digit growth. In the United States and Mexico, where sales in general have also suffered from the pandemic, the Freixenet and Segura Viudas brands have shown their strength and have evolved positively.
One of the keys to the resilience and strength shown by Freixenet in this complex context is the global and innovative nature of the brand, which exports more than 80% of its product. Specifically, most of the brands’ sales are concentrated in Germany, the UK, France and the United States.
In addition, in this complex year Henkell Freixenet has demonstrated its strength and leadership in the market and the quality of its products has continued to be recognized by the most prestigious wine contests such as The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, Decanter World Wine Awards, Mundus Vini, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles or Bacchus.
The vice president and CEO of Grupo Freixenet, Pedro Ferrer, affirms that “This year we have experienced an unprecedented scenario, but as a centennial company we have known how to adapt to the new context and we have once again demonstrated our strength and vision for the future to continue being leaders in the sector and responding to the reality of the market”.
“At the moment we assume that demand will pick up in the restaurant, hotel and catering sector in the second half of the year, depending on the progress of the vaccination campaign and the further development of the pandemic. For 2021, we expect stable to slightly growing consumption in the wine, sparkling wine and spirits segment. As a result of our strong regional and brand diversification we are confident we can continue to overcome the challenges associated with the crisis and, true to our ‘Celebrate Life’ slogan, we hope to be clinking glasses with our customers again in the course of the year,” said Dr Andreas Brokemper, CEO of Henkell Freixenet.
