“We wonder where it came from!
Every day we have surprises, it's unexpected.
People drink better. ”
As Baptiste Léger, wine merchant at Nicolas in the 18th arrondissement of Paris since November 2014, explains, the sector has experienced "a market explosion since December 2020".
In recent weeks, the Nicolas group, which brings together 500 stores throughout France, including 320 in the Paris region, has observed an increase in sales of wines, spirits and champagnes of 20 to 25%.
According to the management of the group which will celebrate its bicentenary next year, it has been decades since the company had such a start to the year.
The general secretary of the 5,800 professional wine merchants, Nathalie Viet, confirms a national increase of 10 to 20%.
At Baptiste, the increase in attendance is 15% in February and 19% in January (compared to last year).
“Now we have people all week.
Even on weekends, it increases with 150 to 200 sales on Saturdays ”, appreciates the wine merchant.
In addition to attendance, the average basket has also climbed: "we went from 20 euros to 25-27 euros", assures Baptiste.
A renewed activity which can be explained by several factors.
Bars and restaurants replaced by home parties
The first cause of this increase is of course the closure of bars and restaurants.
A mechanical transfer from which wine merchants would have benefited more than mass distribution.
According to the Federation of Commerce and Distribution, in January, wine sales increased by 9.5% compared to December 2020, a favorable month for wines.
Over one year, the increase "is only" 2%.
"The latter also turns to us to order," reveals Christopher Hermelin, communications and marketing director at Nicolas.
But the real increase is rather due to gatherings organized at home, often to the chagrin of the government and recommendations to limit collective meals and aperitifs.
Wine merchants are the first witnesses of these evening organizations, on the rise as some regions of the country begin their twentieth week of consecutive restrictions (confinement and curfews).
READ ALSO>
Coronavirus: do we drink too much alcohol during confinement?
“When we have a delivery order of 24 bottles on a Friday evening, our client does not hide from us that he is having a party for nine or ten, admits Baptiste.
But they should not be blamed.
Most of the time, these are evenings with a maximum of six ”, assures the confidant of many Parisians.
In his street, a small path between his neighboring cheese maker and reveals to him the success of raclettes and other fondues.
“Dishes that we rarely share together,” laughs Baptiste.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
But in addition to these gatherings, which replace meals or drinks with friends at the bar after work, the famous “after-work”, the wine merchant observes another phenomenon.
“I have orders for home business meals.
These customers, who are on a good budget, have a take-out meal at a restaurant and come for wine here.
They realize that we make less profit than restaurants, so they even buy very good wines ”.
Internet deliveries and orders also increased by 20%, as in many sectors.
Dismissed in August because of the Covid, Pauline Minier, 25, could not have dreamed of a better start for her Cellar Online company.
Launched three months ago, it has seen the number of deliveries of its organic wines in Paris grow exponentially with up to seven deliveries per day on weekends.
Telework and isolation
The setting up of a telephone advice and ordering service, launched during the first confinement by the Nicolas group, has been a real success.
“A lot of people have been isolated for months.
Human contact with wine merchants is clearly sought after.
Without forgetting that some are afraid, in terms of health, to leave their homes, ”observes Christopher Hermelin, the head of communications.
A trend accelerated by confinement and curfew.
A societal aspect that Nathalie Viet wants to recall.
“These purchases are not limited to one product.
Wine is not just alcohol.
It is also taste, which reassures in our society, which is good for morale and the stomach when we are losing meaning, ”she points out.
Wine as a safe haven, in short.
READ ALSO>
"I no longer leave my home": these French people paralyzed by the coronavirus
Teleworking, sometimes difficult for some, has also been an opportunity to take initiatives absent during meals in a company or with colleagues.
“Many French people need and want to have fun.
It is not uncommon for our customers to entrust us with a drink at lunchtime at home, which they did not do before ”, assures Christopher Hermelin.
This is the case of Aby, a bubbly inhabitant of the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
“It happens to me, recognizes the thirty-something.
I have been going to the cellar more and more for a year, but this mostly remains for evenings with friends.
My wine merchant knows my tastes and that matters ”.
She thus buys two bottles at 10-15 euros per week.
“At the supermarket, you don't know what you're buying.
We often do it according to the price, telling ourselves that it is a guarantee of quality, ”says the one who works in commercial real estate.
The wine industry remains in great difficulty
While this loyal customer will continue to support her convenience store, the future is cloudy for the sector.
What will happen when bars and restaurants reopen?
"No euphoria" we confide in Nicolas, who, like the representative of the sector, does not expect a year of growth in 2020.
“Perhaps our prices, our advice, the quality of our products will keep new customers, often young people.
Otherwise, they will resume their habits… ”, Baptiste does not dare to get wet.
“Customers attracted to the proximity will stay.
But wine merchants have suffered from the cancellation of weddings, the fall in tourism, the closure of roadside restaurants… ”, tempers Nathalie Viet, from the wine merchant union.
Moreover, the increase in these sales at wine merchants is not felt on the side of the producers.
According to the National Committee of Interprofessions of Wine (Cniv), the sole closure of restaurants and bars in 2020 generated a loss of 1.5 billion euros.
To which must be added the Trump tax - which Joe Biden has just removed - and which cost the industry 400 million euros last year.
Without forgetting the virtual cessation of exports ... FranceAgriMer calculates a loss of one billion euros (-11% in volume) after five consecutive years of growth.
