“In England, it is a disaster. The American market is also at a standstill. There, 40% to 50% of restaurateurs will not reopen. Pascal Dubois, Managing Director of Champagne Devaux, a company based in the Côte des Bar (Aube), observes with concern the trends facing the coronavirus crisis. The two countries alone account for 50% of the volumes exported. And in Japan, the third largest market in the sector? “Demand is at half mast. Sales of champagne are correlated with the state of mind of the population, ”he deplores.
"All on-trade (Editor's note: sales outside large-scale distribution) is at a standstill, tourism and events being frozen," confirms Myriam Renard, export director of Vranken-Pommery Monopole, in Reims (Marne). Only the markets that have chosen collective immunity, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, resist.
Brands exposed internationally very affected
At Taittinger's in Reims (Marne), we take advantage of previous orders to pass the course. “Some countries ordered a lot before the Covid and did not need replenishment. In the United States, the threat of new taxes had increased orders at the start of the year, "explains Vitalie Taittinger, its CEO.
According to the Interprofessional Committee for Champagne Wine, in 2019, 52.4% of the 295 million bottles were sold abroad. One hundred million will not find a taker this year. "Brands that go mainly through distribution could lose around 30% of their revenue," says Pascal Dubois. Those exposed internationally expect 60% to 80% ”. Vitalie Taittinger mentions, “25% to 40% loss” over a year for her company.
The sector, which weighs 5 billion euros in annual turnover, is currently managing its cash flow concerns. "The product has a strong seasonality, the majority of sales occurs in the last quarter, this may allow time to delay," hopes Myriam Renard. But for small producers, the future looks difficult.
Reduced production
As in every storm, the houses protect the appellation by curbing production. “When sales go down, we buy less grapes from the winemakers the following year. We had a period of downward trend in recent years, but there, incomes will drop from 30% to 40%, ”says Pascal Dubois.
For Edith Jacob, an operator in the Aube, no worries on this side: if she uses half of her grapes to make her own wine, she has also secured her resales with multi-year contracts with major houses. “Some winegrowers say that they will not be settled because they are not committed to the houses and do not want to do so. We have signed, we will be settled. "
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Only positive point of the situation, the workforce. The producers manage to recruit, thanks to the premises in particular. The opening of borders for European workers should also make it possible to allocate the 100,000 jobs created each year for the harvest in September.
