The Rotkäppchen-Mumm house of sparkling wine is confident, "Germans continue to purchase our products"

The Rotkäppchen-Mumm house of sparkling wine is confident: according to business figures, Germans continue to buy sparkling wine despite the financial crisis...

Despite the current recession, a relaxed mood reigns within the Rotkäppchen-Mumm house. "Germans currently do not hesitate to spend money on alcoholic beverages in a relatively constant manner", said Günter Heise, the house’s business manager at the time of presenting the house’s 2008 business report in Leipzig.

Despite the world-wide crisis, last year the Rotkäppchen-Mumm house increased its sales by 4.4 percent, thus attaining 740.9 million Euros, which represents a growth of 43.3 percent market share in comparison with the 39.1 percent attained the previous year.

According to manager Mr. Heise, the German flagship brand remains Rotkäppchen, having sold 198.9 million bottles in 2008. There was also an increase of 10.5 percent of sales corresponding to the Jules Mumm, Geldermann and MM Extra brands.

On the other hand, spirits sales are stagnating in Germany. In terms of brand wines, Rotkäppchen-Mumm sold 7.5 million bottles, which represents an increase of 1.9 percent in sales.

According to Mr. Heise’s contribution during the press conference, Rotkäppchen-Mumm was last year’s leader in terms of sparkling wine sales in the German market, a position that the firm is determined to occupy again this year.

Mr. Heise however did express concern regarding the difficulty of foreseeing the impact of the world-wide crisis on consumer behavior. He chose nevertheless to remain optimistic with regard to these risks.

Handelsblatt.com - May 19 2009