Put wine exploration and experience at the heart of the travel retail environment and offer, and commercial and reputational rewards will follow. So says Penfolds Global Director – Global Travel Michael Jackson in this interview.
Just over a year since he was appointed Global Director – Global Travel at Treasury Wine Estates’ flagship label Penfolds, Michael Jackson says that the leading wine brand is accelerating investment behind its vision to become a global luxury icon.
Taking the next steps in its innovation drive and engaging travelling consumers in new and memorable ways across the travel journey are core elements of this plan. So too is bringing fresh thinking about how wine can contribute to travel retailers’ portfolios.
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report during the TFWA World Exhibition recently, Jackson says that creating a Penfolds wine experience in the channel is an area of acute focus today.
“Penfolds is investing a huge amount of resource and energy in the travel retail sector. We feel we can play a role in terms of being a category champion, and leading people into the category.
“We see Penfolds as the brand that helps to build confidence in the further evolution of the category, that helps capture the consumer who potentially doesn’t drink spirits or other categories and would enjoy a bottle of wine, including purchasing as a gift. These are people who want a level of personalisation that the category doesn’t always offer.
“That in turn means rethinking how we sell wine and putting the occasion at the heart of the experience.”
Understanding what moves the shopper lies at the heart of the strategy today, and here Penfolds is leaning on a wealth of data gleaned from a recent consumer study across key markets.
“There are some key insights around gift-giving, with wine the number one gifting item within wines & spirits,” says Jackson. “We know that 70% of people that have consumed wine in the previous 12 months have gifted wine. One in four people that do not drink wine themselves actually gift wine. So clearly gifting and personalisation are drivers that we aim to tap into in a big way.
“We have been very clear in defining the consumer that we are targeting and being focused on delivering activity that talks to them.”
In particular, Penfolds is focused on three core groups (extended from two that Jackson discussed with us in an interview last year).
There’s the ‘New Luxurian’, who identifies with wine as part of their luxury lifestyle. ‘The Connoisseur’, often a collector of wine, is more interested in the details of the winemaking process and may have their own cellar. Then there is the ‘Status Connoisseur’, who tends to be younger, more confident in their choices, willing to spend and who loves to talk about wine.
These consumers are top of mind for brand management as it fixates on experience and the drivers of innovation.
That focus on shopper engagement as a priority is built into the Global Travel division’s strategy and mandated from the top. Jackson explains: “We are part of the consumer experience channel internally, which also encompasses our cellar doors but also our digital channels. I report up to our Chief Marketing Officer so that also shows you how we see the role of the travel channel in providing luxury experiences to our core audiences.”
Aiding Penfolds’ recruitment in the channel is a series of creative initiatives that involve collaborations, exclusive releases, plus digital and physical store investment.
Last year the company struck a multi-year relationship with acclaimed fashion designer NIGO (Founder of the Human Made label) to lead the vision for selected Penfolds projects. This began with the global release of One by Penfolds – a range of wines celebrating ‘Oneness’.
Just this month, Penfolds and NIGO launched a limited collection for the upcoming festive season – ‘Holiday Designed by Nigo’. The range features four collectible gift boxes and takes inspiration from Nigo’s interpretation of the graphic checkered pattern found in traditional Asian textiles.
The launch programme involves activations with Lotte Duty Free at Melbourne Airport and with Hainan Tourism Duty Free Shopping Complex (HTDF) in Sanya, Hainan. Notably, HTDF and Penfolds also recently combined to open a landmark Hainan Island offshore duty-free outlet for the brand.
That store provides a comprehensive shopping experience from daily sampling to collector-grade selections, while showcasing the brand’s key offers, including wines from Penfolds’ Bins and Grange collection.
In another project, Grange by NIGO was released via Gebr. Heinemann at Copenhagen and Sydney airports earlier this year, marking Penfolds’ first designer reinterpretation of its signature wine.
This is one of a series of releases to coincide with Penfolds’ 180th anniversary celebrations in 2024.
The limited-edition Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021 is another highlight, one colourfully amplified at an exclusive pop-up at Melbourne Airport with Lotte Duty Free.
The pop-up featured the ultra-rare travel retail-exclusive Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021 Jeroboam (3 litres), one of only eight available globally.
The collector’s edition was sold on 9 August, just nine days after its launch. Alongside this, 1.5-litre bottles and 750ml gift boxes were also made available, designed by South Australian artisan Andrew Bartlett.
The sumptuous Bin 180 blend combines Block 10 Cabernet Sauvignon and Block 5 Shiraz, renowned for their distinctive terroir expressions.
The Lotte Duty Free partnership extends to an immersive shop-in-shop experience in Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3, where the retailer opened its eye-catching Central Duplex wines, spirits & tobacco store in December 2023.
“These openings and releases speak to how we aim to use experience,” says Jackson. “We recognise that value is not just about price but about how you add value through experience, interaction and special expressions.
“Our Bin 180 limited-edition in 3 litres sold out at Melbourne Airport within just a few days as there is such demand for these rare offers.”
The Penfolds City Explorer pack, coming soon to market, is another big initiative, with expressions connected to some leading travel destinations. “This speaks to sense of place, which has always been important in global travel, but also speaks to the consumer experience and how we add value.”
Digital touchpoints are a key element in the consumer engagement drive. The Changi T3 shop-in-shop for example houses the first Penfolds 3D screen, inviting travellers on a visual journey through the history of the brand and the picturesque vineyards of Australia, providing an interactive way for shoppers to engage with the brand.
The Penfolds Digital Sommelier programme is another feature of this and other stores, and has been advanced recently with an updated version (see panel).
The programme, which analyses individual taste preferences to recommend wines that resonate with each customer, now carries more details about the range, presented in a more user-friendly, intuitive way on screen.
All of these initiatives speak to the importance of encouraging and reinforcing wine’s status as a travel retail staple. Further investment behind this will follow.
Jackson says: “Visibility is one of our key pillars. We have been running many activations in global travel, with an overall ambition to drive more permanent visibility and repetition with consumers. For example, as we continue to plan for the future, we are looking at a new concept for our Sydney shop-in-shop and hope to take that concept to more locations around the world.”
For Penfolds, standing out from the crowd is vital, but so too is contributing to category growth that can benefit all brands. Here, Jackson outlines how he views the opportunity.
“When thinking about the traditional ways consumers shop for wine, the assumption is that people shop by varietal. However, at Penfolds, we have been shifting our approach to be more experiential led.
“This can include anything from visibility within the retail space, limited-edition offerings, how we communicate, education and generally how the brand shows up through distinctive codes. With the experience at the heart, we see more engagement from shoppers, resulting in buyers who are willing to trade up with their wine selection.
“Having dedicated Penfolds ‘owned’ brand areas within global travel has also been a significant shift. Instead of Penfolds wines being grouped by category/varietal, we have been fortunate to build custom-designed ‘stores within stores’ or specific Penfolds-branded areas to foster greater brand visibility. When looking at our future global travel plans, we’re always striving for Penfolds to have maximum impact within the retail locations, whether that be based on footprint or highly engaging activation.”
The strategy is backed by strong commercials, with Global Travel performing very well in 2024 to date, notes Jackson.
“With many retailer partners in many markets around the world, we have been fortunate to see positive growth ahead of the category, which is really exciting,” he says. As China continues to re-open within the global travel channel (post the lifting of tariffs on Australian wine), Penfolds is beginning to make its way back on-shelf.
Jackson says: “To date, Penfolds’ depletion in China global travel is in line with our expectations, and we are excited to play a part in reigniting the wine category in China. Outside of China while tariffs were imposed, we grew our demand base across other markets and saw great growth in Asia (Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam) which put us in a really strong position. It means that compared to 2019 we are ahead in terms of performance.”
As the brand marks 180 years, Jackson concludes with a message about Penfolds’ potential contribution to travel retail now and in future.
“We want to build belief that Penfolds can act as a flagship brand for the category, and we have insights showing we can be a category partner as well as a brand partner.
“We may be one brand but we never sit still. We are constantly innovating and creating consumer demand across markets.
“With Penfolds’ 180th anniversary this year, we are not only celebrating our past but we are taking the opportunity to further establish ourselves as a global luxury icon. And this channel plays a big role in delivering on that vision.”
Marking 180 years with a vibrant Cannes showcase
Penfolds shared its latest innovations and experiences at the recent TFWA World Exhibition as it marked 180 years of the brand with a special focus on travel retail.
Highlights included:
The City Explorer Pack: A special-edition gift set available as an exclusive gift with purchase, commemorating the brand’s 180th anniversary. Tailored to eight cities, including London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore, the collection reflects Penfolds’ global reach and luxury appeal.
Each pack features two single country of origin Bin wines – made up of one or a combination of Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz, both from Australia. Encased in a signature silver suitcase tin adorned with a city-themed travel belt and customisable luggage tags, the City Explorer Pack launches in December, celebrating Penfolds connection to many sought-after destinations.
Digital Sommelier 2.0: Building on the success of its original launch in May 2023, the Digital Sommelier was reintroduced at Cannes in a dynamic, visual-led format. This upgraded tool enhances the wine selection process for travellers with an interactive, gamified experience that boosts engagement and enjoyment.
Featuring a modernised user interface with refreshed gamified elements and fun on-screen motion, the Digital Sommelier 2.0 is designed to make exploring the Penfolds’ wine portfolio more engaging and immersive.
Wine Charms: Penfolds offered an exclusive first look at its forthcoming Wine Charms, luxury accessories designed to elevate the at-home wine experience.
A wine-tasting experience: One of the event highlights was the Wine Tasting Experience, where guests were guided through several landmark Penfolds releases.
Led by Penfolds Brand Ambassador Toby Amphlett, the tasting featured wines such as 2008 Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz and 2018 Superblend 802.B Cabernet Shiraz, providing a deeper insight into Penfolds’ craftsmanship and legacy.
The tasting highlighted the collectability and ageability of these fine wines by allowing guests to experience how they have evolved over time. The 2008 Bin 169, resurrected after its original 1973 vintage, was presented alongside the recent 2019 release, offering a rare opportunity to appreciate the wine’s enduring quality and evolution.
Guests also sampled the 2008 Bin 620 Cabernet Shiraz, which offered more context for the Superblend series and culminated in the tasting of the 2018 Superblend 802.B – a release poised to become a collector’s favourite, said Penfolds. ✈
This interview was first published in The Moodie Davitt eZine, Issue 340. Click here for access.
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