Spar is to launch four exclusive wine ranges - despite new market data revealing an overall slump in sales of retailer-exclusive wines.

Though some exclusives have enjoyed booming sales (Sainsbury’s Mondelli broke into the top 10 wines in The Grocer’s Top Products Survey last year after growing 71.5% year-on-year [Nielsen 52 w/e 13 October 2012]), the sub-category’s share of wine sales has fallen one percentage point to 9.6% [52 w/e 2 February 2013].

Industry insiders have previously raised concerns that the retailer-exclusive market may have become saturated.

But Spar said there was an opportunity to grow the category. It said exclusive wines had been performing well in the convenience market, with value sales up 14.6% in the past year, and that it saw potential to increase its share of exclusive wines, which currently account for just 2.1% of total wine sales at the retailer.

In April, it will launch two Spanish ranges, Modesta and Sola, and two Italian ranges, Perlezza and Terra Ricca. In total, they comprise nine different wines from the two countries.

“The offering is set to appeal to an even wider customer base, from new drinkers to confident wine enthusiasts, thanks to the huge amount of innovation across these wines,” said Chris Lewis, Spar UK licensed trading director.

Retailers were keen to sell exclusive brands as it let them offer unique products that avoid price comparison with competitors, said Jon Pepper, MD of wine importer Buckingham Schenk.

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