The Closeout Recipe
Want the perfect Closeout recipe so you can avoid the pitfalls?
I can smell the closeout dish from a mile away. Putting a producer in the position to succeed in this crazy market takes thoughtful work, and it is obvious when that doesn’t happen.
Most of the time it has little to do with the actual producer or wine in question…
A Closeout Recipe
The pricing is wack compared to the other prices in the market. (i.e. pricing formulas, not sales formulas)
The wine is launched with a tech sheet and a taste.
The producer has a dusty and shriveled story that is yawn-inducing or as memorable as a bland morning cereal.
The reference point for the appellation is a vivid one and the producer you represent has no relation or anything that differentiates it from the reference point.
It fills a “category.”
The wine is launched with overtly flowery prose.
There is zero plan to market the wine if the first wave doesn’t work.
The wine is “all the rage in Paris.”
When this becomes the answer to everything: Put this in your bag.
“ Nowadays, I can spot a future closeout from a mile away, and most of the time it has little to do with the actual wine.
[insert Hot shit importer here] USED TO represent them.
The internal attitude of the importer/distributor is you HAVE to sell this to have that.
The wine is hidden in plain sight within the inventory.
The wine is “allocated” out before anyone knows the value of the producer or has tasted a drop.
The internal attitude of the importer is “this will never work.” (often manifested in inventory quantities).