Abstract

The study examines brand building of wines sold in the UK which hold a small share of the market. Brand development was facilitated by segmenting wine consumers and by examining the differences between them in relation to the factors which can enhance variety seeking. Wine from Greece was used as a case study as it holds a small market share in UK.
The consumer survey was carried out in the Newcastle Upon Tyne area, UK. A self-completion questionnaire was distributed via the drop-off technique to wine consumers who had bought at least one bottle of wine in the last three months prior to the survey. In total, 217 usable questionnaires were returned. Principal component analysis identified the underlying constructs of participants’ attitudes and behaviour towards wine and revealed the scales for measuring the key variables which were used to segment consumers, namely, Degree of Involvement, Variety Seeking, and Wine Usage. The variables were employed in a Two-Step Cluster Analysis which identified five segments of wine consumers, labelled, “Habitual Decision Makers”, “Safe Bet Bargain Seekers”, “Interested Occasional Drinkers”, “Enthusiastic Wine Hobbyists” and v) “Adventurous Regular Drinkers”. Principal Component Analysis also identified the factors which can enhance variety seeking in relation to wine consumption. Multiple Discriminant Function Analysis was employed to examine the differences between the segments. Knowledge about wine and Authenticity best discriminated the groups. Wine from Greece and from countries with similar production characteristics should develop their brands based on these two factors in order to target the segments which consider them as most important. In the case of wine from Greece “Enthusiastic Wine Hobbyists” should comprise the major potential target group.
The study has theoretical implications as it contributes to the brand development literature. It identifies the elements according to which wines from countries with similar characteristics with Greece can be branded in UK. In addition, the study contributes to the segmentation methodology for wine consumers by further developing the segment based on involvement with wine; and to the typologies of wine consumers by identifying an additional segment compared to the existing literature by employing a clustering technique which has not been widely used in marketing. The findings have also practical implications as can facilitate brand development not only for Greek wine producers, but also for wine producers throughout the world seeking to target exports to the UK market which will help them to differentiate their wines from the competition.