With bars and restaurants closed or operating at minimal capacity, U.S. wine and beer makers have lost about 20 percent of their sales, a figure reflected by others in the industry around the world, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Diageo, the British company that owns Guinness, among other brews, reported a 9-percent sales decline during the second half of its fiscal year 2020, falling to £11.75 billion from £12.87 billion year on year. The company has seen its share prices slide 16 percent so far in 2020.
Shares of Constellation Brands, the biggest U.S. purveyor of beers and wines including Modelo and Robert Mondavi, have sagged 4 percent. The company reported net sales of $2.26 billion in its fiscal years’ second quarter, slightly below the $2.34 billion notched a year earlier.
The stock price of Crimson Wine Group, a Napa vineyard, is down 35 percent this year.
As in most other sectors of the consumer economy, online shoppers have buoyed the industry.
In September, vintners shipped $312 million worth of wine direct to consumers, 17 percent more than a year before, according to the Wine Analytics Report. Also, September wine sales in grocery stores were 16 percent greater year on year, Wines Vines Analytics reported, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The consumer staples sector of the S&P 500, which includes beer and wine, has risen about 0.79 percent this year, compared to the S&P’s overall gain of 1.95 percent.
TREND FORECAST: The liquor business will not bounce back to pre-lockdown levels until the COVID War ends and bars, restaurants, hospitality, entertainment, and travel industries fully open up… and fear ridden consumers feel safe to go out, party, and play… which a vaccine will expedite.
TREND FORECAST: Just as the Roaring ‘20s followed the Spanish Flu, we forecast a “Roaring 2020s” to follow COVID-19, as locked down young adults hit the streets to let loose and party.
From going to speakeasys during the lockdowns and then out to clubs when they are again permitted, there will be numerous OnTrendpreneur® opportunities to create new night club scenes and sounds in the upcoming “Roaring 2020s.”
