銷售疲軟 過億美元葡萄酒將被銷燬

One of the world's biggest vintners has a roaring hangover from poor U.S. sales, leading it to destroy thousands of gallons of wine past its prime.

由於美國銷售情況不佳，全球最大的葡萄酒生產商之一Treasury Wine Estates Ltd.的庫存大幅上升，導致該公司決定銷燬超過最佳飲用期的數千加侖葡萄酒。

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. -7.83% ─whose brands range from the mass-market, U.S.-made Beringer up to $1,000-a-bottle Penfolds Grange from Australia─said it would book a charge of 160 million Australian dollars (US$145 million) against its U.S. business for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

該公司說，截至6月30日的財政年度，旗下美國業務將計入1.6億澳元（合1.45億美元）的減記支出。該公司的葡萄酒品牌有面向大衆市場的美國產貝靈哲(Beringer)，也有每瓶售價高達1,000美元的澳洲產奔富葛蘭許(Penfolds Grange)。

The vintner relies heavily on sales of less-expensive labels in the U.S., the world's biggest wine market. Treasury Wine said Monday it had overestimated U.S. demand in the past year, forcing it to discount or destroy older wines that had passed their drink-by date. The company warned it expects to ship less wine to the U.S. this fiscal year, reducing operating earnings by as much as A$30 million.

這家葡萄酒廠商嚴重依賴較爲便宜的品牌在全球最大葡萄酒市場美國的銷售。Treasury Wine週一說，該公司去年高估了美國的需求，被迫將已經超過最佳飲用期的葡萄酒打折銷售，或者予以銷燬。該公司警告稱，預計本財年美國發貨量將減少，營運利潤下降最多3,000萬澳元。

Inexpensive, low-alcohol wines such as White Zinfandel, a key Beringer varietal, don't have nearly as long a shelf life as a high-end Chardonnay or many red wines, said Jon Fredrikson, head of Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, an industry consultancy in California, noting that many people who used to reach for a white Zin now opt for Moscato, a similarly sweet wine. Even so, he said, it is 'very rare'' for large quantities of wine to be destroyed.

加州葡萄酒業諮詢公司Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates的負責人弗雷德裏克鬆(Jon Fredrikson)說，貝靈哲系列白仙粉黛(White Zinfandel)等廉價低度葡萄酒的最佳飲用期要比高端的霞多麗(Chardonnay)或者許多紅葡萄酒短，他指出，許多人過去選擇白仙粉黛，如今則轉而選擇一種類似的甜葡萄酒莫斯卡託(Moscato)。他說，即便如此，大批銷燬葡萄酒仍非常罕見。

Bulk wine that hasn't sold is redirected to distilleries, which can use it to make brandy or other spirits, although it is too expensive to do that once wine has already been bottled.

未售出的散裝葡萄酒通常會被髮回給釀酒廠，用於生產白蘭地或其他烈酒，不過如果葡萄酒已經裝瓶，再這樣做成本就太高了。

By recalling unsold wine bottles from distributors and retailers and then destroying them, wine companies can recoup taxes that were paid on the wine, softening losses, Mr. Fredrikson said.

弗雷德裏克鬆說，葡萄酒公司從分銷商和零售商召回未售出的瓶裝葡萄酒，然後予以銷燬，這樣做可以拿回之前爲葡萄酒繳納的部分稅款，進而減少損失。

'You take a steamroller and roll over the bottles and the government approves it and you get the tax back,'' said Mr. Fredrikson.

弗雷德裏克鬆說，你弄輛壓路機，碾碎酒瓶，得到政府批准，你就可以獲得退稅。

Problems have followed the Sydney-based Treasury Wine Estates since it was spun off from global beverage maker Foster's Group Ltd. two years ago. Back then, a glut of Australian grapes and weak sales in the U.S. and other overseas markets weighed on profit. The latest impairment charge followed a A$1 billion write-down of the business before the spinoff in 2011.

自兩年前從全球飲料生產商Foster's Group Ltd.分拆出來以來，各種問題一直困擾着悉尼的Treasury Wine Estates。當時，澳大利亞葡萄產量過剩，加之美國和其他海外市場銷售疲弱，給利潤帶來了重壓。在這次的減記支出前，2011年分拆之前有過一筆10億澳元的減記。

The company owns scores of labels produced globally, including Castello di Gabbiano, Chateau St. Jean, Greg Norman Estates, Pepperjack, Stags' Leap Winery, and Wynns Coonawarra Estate.

該公司擁有一系列全球生產的品牌，包括加畢安諾酒莊(Castello di Gabbiano)、聖讓酒莊(Chateau St. Jean)、諾曼酒莊(Greg Norman Estates)、Pepperjack、鹿躍酒莊(Stags' Leap Winery)和醞思古納華拉酒莊(Wynns Coonawarra Estate)。

Treasury Wine's struggles set it apart from the broader wine industry in the U.S., which is posting record sales after 19 straight years of volume growth and an increased thirst for imported labels.

Treasury Wine的困境與美國葡萄酒業的總體形勢形成了鮮明的對比。美國的葡萄酒業在連續19年的銷量增長之後實現了創紀錄的銷售額，進口品牌需求上升。

Australian wines rode a wave of popularity in the U.S. during the 1990s and first half of the last decade but have ceded momentum to other wine-exporting countries, such as Argentina, Chile and South Africa. The Aussie dollar's strength in recent years also hurt the competitiveness of wine from Down Under.

上世紀90年代及本世紀前五年，澳大利亞葡萄酒在美國頗受歡迎，但目前勢頭不及其他葡萄酒出口國，包括阿根廷、智力和南非。澳元近年來堅挺，這也損害了澳大利亞葡萄酒的競爭力。

In addition, much of Treasury's U.S. sales are in low-priced wines at a time when American tastes are turning more expensive. U.S. store sales of wine bottles priced between $3 and $5.99 edged up just 1.5% and bottles priced $6 to $8.99 dropped 3.3% in the 52 weeks ended May 25 in volume terms, according to Nielsen. By contrast, volumes of bottles priced $9 to $11.99 and $12 to $14.99 rose 13% and 9%, respectively, and those above $15 increased more than 6%.

此外，Treasury在美銷售的葡萄酒多爲低價葡萄酒，而目前美國人的偏好正在轉向更加昂貴的葡萄酒。據尼爾森(Nielsen)的數據，在截至5月25日的52週中，美國商店中定價在3至5.99美元的瓶裝葡萄酒銷量僅上升了1.5%，定價在6至8.99美元的葡萄酒銷量下降了3.3%。相比之下，定價在9至11.99美元和12至14.99美元的瓶裝葡萄酒銷量分別上升了13%和9%，而定價在15美元以上的葡萄酒銷量上升了逾6%。

U.S. wine consumption rose 2.2% last year, reaching 345.1 million 9-liter cases, and rose 3.6% to $32.3 billion in retail sales, according to Technomic, an industry tracker. But for Treasury Wine, the No. 5 player in the U.S., American sales slipped 1.9% by volume, while those of market leader E & J Gallo Winery rose 3.5%, Technomic estimated.

據行業跟蹤商Technomic說，美國去年葡萄酒消費量增長2.2%，達3.451億箱（九升裝），零售額增長3.6%，至323億美元。但據Technomic估計，對於在美國市場排名第五的Treasury Wine來說，美國銷量下滑了1.9%，而市場領跑者E & J Gallo Winery的銷量上升了3.5%。

Treasury Wine's sales in the U.S. slipped below 13 million cases last year from 16.5 million in 2009, according to an estimate from Import Databank. It said that each of Treasury Wine's top five brands in the U.S.─Beringer, Lindemans, Stone Cellars, The Little Penguin and Meridian─had lost ground over the past three years, although Beringer and Lindemans posted modest growth last year.

據Import Databank的估計，Treasury Wine在美銷量從2009年的1,650萬箱降至去年的不到1,300萬箱。它說，Treasury Wine在美國的五大品牌──貝靈哲、利達民(Lindemans)、史東酒窖(Stone Cellars)、小企鵝(The Little Penguin)和默裏迪恩(Meridian)──過去三年都處於失利局面，不過貝靈哲和利達民去年實現了小幅增長。

'Management need to rebuild credibility across the board,' said Brad King, a portfolio manager at fund manager Armytage Private, which owns Treasury Wine shares. 'Apart from the Penfolds brand, everything needs improvement.' He said he was surprised by the size of the latest impairment charge.

基金管理公司Armytage Private的投資組合經理金(Brad King)說，管理層需要重建整個公司的信譽。該公司持有Treasury Wine的股票。他說，除奔富葛蘭許品牌外，所有一切都需要改進。他說，他對這次的減記支出規模感到意外。

Treasury Wine's shares fell 12% Monday in Sydney.

Treasury Wine在悉尼上市的股票週一跌12%。

Treasury Wine Chief Executive David Dearie defended the vintner's strategy of chasing sales in the U.S., where he predicted total wine sales could rise to 450 million cases a year within a decade.

Treasury Wine首席執行長迪爾裏(David Dearie)爲該公司在美國追求銷量的戰略進行辯護。他預測，10年內，美國葡萄酒年銷量有望上升至4.5億箱。

'It's a fantastic growth opportunity, at the right price points,' he told investors on a conference call.

他在電話會議上對投資者說，這是一個無與倫比的增長機會，在合適的價格點實現增長。

Treasury Wine has been seeking to increase sales in China, announcing plans in March to open wine bars or restaurant-and-entertainment outlets in a bid to get the country's consumers to drink luxury wines, rather than simply give bottles as gifts. Treasury Wine currently sells in China only through distributors.

Treasury Wine一直在尋求擴大在華銷售，今年3月公佈了在華開設葡萄酒吧或飯店娛樂設施的計劃，以便讓中國消費者飲用高檔葡萄酒，而不是僅僅將葡萄酒用於送禮。Treasury Wine目前在中國僅通過分銷商銷售葡萄酒。

China's appetite for wine has surged, spurring competition among winemakers who had flooded the market and now are looking to differentiate themselves. Wine consumption in China will increase to 2.1 liters a person over the next three years from about 1.4 liters in 2011, according to London-based International Wine & Spirit Research.

中國消費者的葡萄酒需求一直在飆升，加劇了葡萄酒生產商之間的競爭。廠商們涌入中國市場，目前正在尋求脫潁而出。據倫敦的國際葡萄酒及烈酒研究所(International Wine & Spirit Research)說，未來三年，中國的葡萄酒消費量將從2011年的每人約1.4升增至2.1升。

Analysts said a recent fall in the Australian dollar, which is down about 13% against its U.S. counterpart since the start of the year, could help Treasury Wine offset the lower U.S. sales and could even lure bidders for the vintner itself.

分析人士說，澳元最近的貶值可能幫助Treasury Wine抵消美國銷售的疲弱，甚至可能吸引其他公司競購這家葡萄酒生產商。自今年年初以來，澳元對美元跌了約13%。

The Australian dollar's relative strength against the U.S. currency─the Australian dollar was above parity from late last June until mid-May of this year─had made Australia's products less competitive against wines from rival regions, such as California's Napa Valley and South America.

之前澳元對美元的相對強勁令澳大利亞產品對來自競爭地區的葡萄酒競爭力下降，比如加州納帕谷(Napa Valley)和南美的葡萄酒。從去年6月底至今年5月中旬，1澳元可以兌換逾1美元。

'If the currency comes back a bit further, perhaps it could become a takeover target for the Europeans or the Chinese,' Armytage Private's Mr. King said.

Armytage Private的金說，如果澳元進一步小幅貶值，Treasury Wine可能成爲歐洲企業或中國企業的收購目標。

Treasury Wine said it expected that operating earnings, which strip out items such as the write-down, would be about A$216 million for the fiscal year that just ended, in line with analysts' forecasts. The company reported net profit of A$89.9 million and operating earnings of A$210.2 million for fiscal 2012.

Treasury Wine說，預計剛剛結束的一個財年營運利潤將約爲2.16億澳元，符合分析人士的預期。該公司2012財年實現淨利潤8,990萬澳元，營運利潤2.102億澳元。營運利潤不包括減記等項目。

Treasury Wine competes against rivals such as Constellation Brands Inc. STZ -0.11% in the U.S. North America, which also includes Canada, is the Australian vintner's biggest market.

Treasury Wine在美國的競爭對手包括Constellation Brands Inc.等公司。北美（包括加拿大）是這家澳大利亞葡萄酒生產商的最大市場。

Global wine inventories have been tightening recently, after years of oversupply, so Treasury Wine's woes were largely company-specific, said Andrew McLennan, a Sydney-based retail analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia +0.22% .

澳州聯邦銀行(Commonwealth Bank of Australia)駐悉尼零售分析師麥克倫南(Andrew McLennan)說，在多年的供應過剩之後，全球葡萄酒庫存最近一直在收緊，因此Treasury Wine的困境很大程度上只是該公司特有的問題。

Despite a record harvest in the U.S. last year, boosted by excellent growing weather, the U.S. grape supply has begun to tighten in recent years as some California farmers switched to nuts and vegetables after vineyard expansions in the 1990s flooded the market with wine.

儘管去年美國的天氣條件非常適合葡萄種植，葡萄獲得了創紀錄的大豐收，但美國葡萄供應近年來開始收緊，因爲上世紀90年代葡萄園的擴張使市場上葡萄酒氾濫，一些加州的農戶轉而種植堅果和蔬菜。

Global wine consumption has outpaced production for more than half a decade, dropping global inventories by about 40% since 2006, according to Rabobank. Global production fell about 6% last year, led by declining output in Europe, while consumption was roughly flat.

據Rabobank說，五年多以來，全球葡萄酒消費增速一直高於產量增速，自2006年以來全球葡萄酒庫存下降了約40%。去年全球葡萄酒產量下降了約6%，其中尤以歐洲的產量降幅爲最，而消費量大體持平。