Ep. 1699 Fabrizio Germano | Masterclass US Wine Market With Juliana Colangelo

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at Italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros and we'll send you a copy of our latest book. My Italian Grapeke journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian Grapeke journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com or wherever you get your pods. Welcome to Mastercost US Market with me, Juliana Colangelo. This show has been designed to demystify the US market for Italian wineries through interviews of experts in sales and distribution, social media, communications, and so much more. We will quiz each of our esteemed guests at the end of each episode to solidify the lessons that we've learned. To sharpen your pencils, get out your notebooks, and join us each week to learn more about the US market. Hello. Welcome to Mastercross US wine market. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Fabrizio Germano to the podcast. Provicio is general manager of Minasima USA based in New York City. Provicio hails from Alba, Italy, and has an extensive background in retail operations both in Europe and in the US. Most recently, Pepitio spent eight years at Italy USA, and now he's overseeing me that same a USA as general manager. Welcome to the show of Pepitio. It's great to have you here. Thank you very much for having me. And, it's a great honor and pleasure to speak here today. Absolutely. Absolutely. Funds to be interviewing Italian, but in the US. So it still fits our theme of a master class US market, but nice, of course, to always hear that Italian accent on the Italian white podcast. But for Bizzo, before we dive into today's discussion, and I'm really excited to talk to you a little bit more about OND sales trends and what's happening, you know, in the off premise. But first, tell us a little bit more about your journey from Italy and France and and now in New York and how you ended up in the world of wine? Well, I'm from Alba. A charming small town, Nestalyn, South of Piedmont. Alba is the beating heart of the lung that he is wet with the roaire in Monterato at a UNESCO or the heritage site. After graduating in Milan in trade and economics, I worked for two decades, seventeen years of which in Paris for a European fashion company as a vice president of, retail and operations. And in two thousand fifteen, I followed my wife, children, and moved to the US where I joined the Italy group. At oh, you opened the New York word race center, Italy downtown, I manage it for three years, and then it was promoted to incorporate the leadership position as director of indirect procurement and facilities for North America. Wow. In June of this era, I joined the the Millezema Group for this new exciting chapter in my life center one of my passions, which is the wine. And what's, amazing is that throughout my childhood, the wine has always been, on the table. And when I was in college, my father became a professional sommelier, and that took my interest in wine at a new level. I wanted to have more in-depth discussion on wine, and so I decided to become, a sommelier as well. At my father and I since, I've enjoyed many, many engaged in conversation on this passion. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. And now, you know, with me, Lesima, I'm able to leave my patient every day. Right. That's incredible. And talk to us a little bit about that transition from working fashion industry to it, to working on wine. What was that like? It's, it's really amazing because in fact, if you want to face on means creation, means, experience. It's not just covering yourself. It's something related to beauty. And, you can find these two inside the hospitality. And decide the beverage and put field. So that's why wine for me is also beauty. It's something that, you create straight from from the land from a grape. And this is so fascinating. Absolutely. I really like that. That comparison makes a lot of sense. And I'd imagine you find some some parallels in in the industries. And then the background also that you're being from is bringing a unique perspective to to this world of wine as well. Definitely. Well, for Brita, let's dive into our today's discussion. We're gonna focus on trends that you're seeing in the fine wine market. I mean, this Emma USA, for Italian wine specifically, what regions are trending? What's selling this holiday season? You know, we know it's been a crazy year twenty twenty three. So we're curious to just understand how the market is responding in the US. And and what we're seeing in the ground level in retail, especially, you know, at this end of the year season. So our our three key takeaways for today's master class and what we're really excited to learn from you are number one, the benefits of having both brick and mortar and e e commerce when it comes to off premise and and wine sales. Number two, how the relationship stimulus in the USA is built over forty years in the business, are taking it to to new success in in twenty twenty four. And finally, number three, and most importantly, what is happening right now with Italian Pine wine at MuleSMA USA and and how is that indicative of the larger market and trends happening in this OND and holiday season? So let's get into it. For starters, talk to us a little bit about MuleSMA USA for a list nurse who might not be familiar with the company? What's the background, the history, and the history of Mila, sema USA, specifically in New York? Yes. Let's start with, Mila France because, this is a very interesting story. Mila was founded in nineteen eighty three by Patrick Bernard, and he was a merchant and a goshiano Bordeaux Criglasset. And several years later, Milezima started to reach out directly private consumers through a print catalog. They expanded eventually their wine offering, and they started to market also the products, in Europe, in country like Germany, Italy, Spain. In nineteen eighty seven, Milazima was, one of the pioneers to embrace the internet as a retails a system. Okay. Since when Milazima is developing efficient and user friendly website, that brings together detailed testing notes, reviews, editorial contents and promotions, and they provide to the customer the best e commerce experience possible. They were one of really one of the earlier pioneers when it came to the e commerce? Definitely. As a as a tool to reach out the the consumers. In two thousand seventeen, Fabrice Bernaro succeeded his father as the president of the company. And for a Belisma USA, maybe it's debut in two thousand six under the direction of, Cortás Bernard, which is Fabrice's sister. And she grew the US branch through e commerce activity and this brick and mortar retail store in New York, Upperside in Second Avenue. And, over the years, the offer of Milezima USA has increased in terms of revenue, references offered and the quality of service. Got it. So talk to us a little bit about your role since joining Milestima USA in June, and what you're focused on. Thank you very much for this question. Let's not only interesting, but let me share with you my vision of how melasma will grow and evolve as a fine wine retailer. The first that we need to continue building the visibility of melasma in the US market, through a strong multichannel communication strategy. Mhmm. Then definitely our new flagship store on the upper east side of it is gonna open in February twenty twenty four, and, I will share more with you later. We'll also increase our visibility. In addition to that, we want to enhance also the diversity of our portfolio focusing, on producing countries, in particular, Italy, showcasing the top top producers, across the main regions of the Belpeism. Also, we want to develop a strong b to b business to business relationship with companies across the US. Further, I would say, we want to announce the customer wine experience by sharing our knowledge, our expertise, through testing, moments, events. And, last but not least, One of the Milazimas distinguishing features is it's offering of PUTures every year. And the Milazimas wants to become the go to merchant for customers that are seeking a seamless and then we say a flawless experience for where, unfamiliar purchases. Okay. So, I mean, where do you see me as Emma USA really sitting out in the US retail space? You know, obviously, your background coming from Italy. You have that lens, but where do you see Milestima really carving out a unique niche space in retail for the US market? First of all, We have a white glove service. We have a talented team of fine wine expert. We have a strong, knowledgeable, knowledgeable specialist, who help and guide the client to choose the right wine either in person or online. The second, we have to consider that we have a unique access to the top wines from Bordeaux via the share of Belesima France, and we are offering futures and pre arrivals. We have a lead time from two to four months. And we pride ourself, on having a wonderful range of the best states in the French wide region, top wines from Italy, US, new word, from iconic producers to everyday values. We try definitely to bring you some of the best wine around the world. But let me say something more, but, which is very important is that we always guarantee the provenance of the bottles, whether you wish to buy online or through our New York store. And lastly, we have an excellent customer support, which is supported also by our robust supply chain. Our wines are stored in temperature control warehouse, and we offer the weather all service to ensure that the quality and the integrity of the wine is there. Very good. So it's really the like you said, that, you know, white glove really high level service that you're providing. So Yes. You know, that tells us that you're dealing with a much more premium, super premium luxury consumer as well. So talk to us a little bit more about the the clientele that Milas Emma USA is servicing and who your buyer is. Italian wine podcast, part of the mama jumbo shrimp family. I would say that, our buyer goes, as I said before, from the everyday values bought us a wine. So we have customers that, they come to the store searching for their day to day white already chilled to customers that we are seeking for rare wines. So it's a very, very big, I would say, portfolio of customers. And this gives us the opportunity to find out gems no matter what the price is because in the wine industry, you can find definitely very good wine as well as these gold mines where you can have the rare wines that we once again, I say we store in the proper condition. Okay. So it sounds like you're really getting a range of them clients because you're offering things at different levels, the rare wines, but also the everyday values too. Correct. Yeah. So let's transition for me Joe. And and, you know, we're here on Italian wine podcast. And, obviously, your your roots and your background at Italy, and now your role at me last time I USA, we wanna know more about the market for Italian wine at Nilesima and what you are really seeing that's trending. So Are there any specific regions in the store where you're seeing growth as we go in, you know, head into the end of this year? Talk to us a little bit about what's what's happening right now with Italian and why specifically at US in there. Well, it's, a very interesting to observe that, the global Italian export in the first semester has been basically steady, but, in the US, unfortunately, the USA has decreased. But one data that I would like to share is this one, that in the hospitality sector, in a restaurant, in the first eight months of the year, according to the observatorio, the lunion Italian Avini, the made in Italy has been steady due to the performance of the sparkling wine, notably the spumante. Okay. So this gives all the operators of the sector, some actions to be taken immediately. The first one is to increase the engagement in the market. So the producers, the consortium, the organizations, they have mostly to be more active, physical, and visible, have a better presence to promote in the region across the US. And then have a deeper analyze of the market. The consumer's age, the habits, the taste, and adapt the price policy accordingly. We know that twenty twenty two, after the pandemic was a great year for the wine, especially Italian wine, twenty twenty three due to the inflation due to the economic trend due to the supply chain very tense, sir, is pretty tough. Right. In doing this, and Millezema wants definitely to do all these analysis too. We think that there is an opportunity for Italy wines to get a higher level that they deserve. So in this moment, beside the three top regions, which are Vene to Piedmont and Tuscany. That are the top seller. We noticed that there are regions that we're growing like the Lombardia, like Trentino to Adija, And these regions, sir, in the first semester of twenty twenty three, they had definitely a spike at two digits. And, depending our store, we notice this. That's very, very interesting, very, very interesting to us. And that's why we would like today to expand our portfolio that is as everybody else, I would say, concentrated with Vena to Piedmont and Tuscany, also to other regions of Italy. Mhmm. Let's not forget that, in Italy, There are more than five hundred fifty native grapes. So Of course. This gives you a really wide choice. It's a gold line for the wine lovers. That's amazing. Definitely. So much to explore and discover. So that's interesting. So you're seeing lombardia, Alto Adi Jay, those regions starting to trend up at Minlissima. Why do you think, you know, the concentration is more in the north? What is it the the style the wines that is it the profile of the midsMI consumer? Like, why those regions in particular? Do you have any ideas? I think that the reason is, most of the great, Italian wines came in the past from this region. Let's talk about the barolo, the bar barresco, the brunelli, let's talk about the the French Chacorta. But nowadays, other regions from the south, they are increasing specifically to me, CCD is one of the region where we are increasing our sales. And this is very, very important for us. In fact, as I said before, that we would like to expand our offer, we would like to expand our offer also in Campania where you can have a great to Tahurazi, Wayne, you can have great, just to give you a few few examples. Of course, the offer of the great, fine Italian wine will always be there. Right. But also looking to expand the offerings to introduce you know, the the buyers to some some new regions. As you said, there's so much to explore for wine lovers in Italy as we know. You know, what interesting factor is that there are wines that are growing in popularity Let's take the the gavi from Piedmont, but there are ways that most recently has been discovered by the American consumers. And these are thanks to the efforts of certain importers. Like, so very native. You know, from the market, so these kind of grapes that produce very interesting and pleasant wine that in the past, they were a little bit neglected. And nowadays, thanks. I repeat for the effort of importers or distributor are available also for the American consumers. Right. How how are you seeing that translate though to the category in general? Would you say, like, what's the the larger point there about these some of these native grapes becoming more popular in the US market? Like, how are you seeing that translate to to what you're seeing at melasma? I translate in the fact that this give us the possibility to reach a wider consumer's population. Mhmm. When you love, I'm a barolo lover. So I love the barolo because my one of my favorite gravest in the biolo. Mhmm. But I also love wine like the barbera, but I also love, from Tuscany, but I also love a catarato from Sicily or from So what I wanna say is that there is definitely a wide range of wine that can get a very big and large group of consumers that they can look for something that is something different, something new. Right. Attracting some a different type of consumer. That makes a lot of sense. Absolutely. So, Ritsie, let's talk a little bit. You know, we're in December right now. So nearing the end of the year, talk to us a little bit about this holiday season. What have you been seeing in the store? What are people buying for Italian wine? What's with maybe some surprising results of what's happening? This O and D? What's going on right now in the store? In the store and online, I would say because, in this holiday season, we started a very, very important offering in terms of, gifting wine. And we wanted to make this gifting wine offer as easy as possible for the consumers. Okay. So what we have done is, we prepared a very great selection for gifting, larger celebration truly with something basically for, everyone. In terms of, Italian wine, we have the sparkling prosecco and Francacorta. That they go alongside of our iconic champagne promotion with this white selection of champagne from the brute Rosier brande Blanc in gifted boxes, of naked bottoms. We do what we call a memorized gift selection. So is, interesting offer to the customers, for which, whatever, I would say for whatever wallet because it goes from the Bordeaux classic burgundy, Italian fine fine wines. We also prepare a premade gift set where we offer free bottles And, we give the customers the possibility to discover the region of Italy, the bordeaux, the burgundy, the California, and more. We have a selection of large format potters. In particular, we have wine from a wide variety region. Because you ask me about, Italy, we include the Piamonte and Tuscany, the and these in a wide range of sizes from Magnum to double magnum, up to twelve liters, Bartazar, or make sure. Yes. Those are fun bottles. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Definitely. Especially for big parties. Yep. Correct. For the collectors and aficionados, we have all vintages, airlines, And we have also a greater value wise section, wines from a different price range, under twenty five dollar, under fifty, under one hundred, under three hundred. We also give the possibility to the customer to have gift cards because we have more than three hundred different Italian wise. And overall, we have a selection of in total twenty nine hundred wines. And we design, as I said before, a b to b offer. We design a corporate gift and offer that include gift ideas, fine wines, sparkling for employees, clients, partners, or corporate events. So, really, you have something for for everyone, which is which is great. Corporate offerings, Jira bombs, but also things under a hundred dollars and at more reasonable price points as well. So that's great. Yeah. If we if we if we wanted to talk about some of the great fine Italians, we we picked some some of them like, the Beyond DeSanti in Brunoo de Montalcino reserve, two thousand fifteen. Anantino retenuto Tigna El La Solaia two thousand seventeen, monteverte in Elle Pargo retorte two thousand eighteen and nineteen. Luciano Sandron and hatumbi Boschke's Barrolo two thousand twelve Angelo Gallo Gallresco, Soliso, Lorenzo, twenty twenty. And we go for remedial paper, Monteputiano da Bruzzo, nineteen ninety three, Odal four, Normaro, Marona de la Balicella two thousand six. These are among the fine, great Italian wines that, Emileseva can offer. Great. Yeah. Those are classics, you know, iconic wines for the holidays. For Brito, as we wind down our our time, I just wanna give you opportunity. Are there any anything new coming up with me that SMA USA you mentioned in your store? So tell us a little bit more about what what's coming next year. We are so excited for these. In fact, in February twenty twenty four, we are gonna open a new flagship of, fifty two hundred square feet. This flagship is gonna be four sections. The arrivals for, day to day wines, the archives for the top quality wines from all over the world, champagne, burgundy, bordeaux, Italy, Spain, a new word. A forum, which is a circular room, that is gonna be reserved for the most iconic wines, in our range, from Grandcrepe, premier Grandcreux Classe, great champagne, super two scans, great, Italians, red, and the spirits, a section dedicated to find spirits with some, some gems that will let our consumer discover. Amazing. Black sheep is gonna, for us, a great opportunity. Our wine specialist, we can engage even more closely with our customers. And for our New York clients, we wanted a new store to be more than their neighborhood Photoshop. We want the store to be their wine library where they can come over to discover new references, revisit the favorites, discuss about wine, taste it alongside our specialist and suppliers, and share very very impressions. And for the customer outside of New York, I think are already familiar with our offering through our nationwide e commerce activity. The flagship store is the embodiment of the Millezema values, a top tier customer service, the passion for wine, the expertise, the careful storage, and the care of each, of our borders. In in long story short, it's the brick and mortar space that represents the the pride we take in preserving the wines, And we're also proud to carry and share this passion with our customers. And, of course, we are the customer across the US, would come to visit us. Absolutely. That's very exciting. I can't wait to see the new space next year. It sounds I really like the way it's it's the organization you mentioned of having it by category but also by occasion of, you know, entry level or more everyday wines to collectors wise. I think that's a really smart way. And and I'm excited to see how it it turns out and the and see the layout. So that's that's very exciting. Well, for Rachel, thank you so much for joining us today on the Italian Wine podcast. As we wind down, we'd like to do our rapid fire quiz, for everybody on the show. So You can do your best to answer these questions in just one or two sentences. That would be great. So question number one, what is your number one tip for mastering the US wine market? I would say guaranteeing the provenance, high quality of service, and the integrity of the product. Great advice. Number two, what is something you might have told your younger professional self about selling wine in the US? You've been at this now for a while. So what is some advice you might have given yourself when you started? Personalized, authentic customer service, is the key to drive loyalty to the business. Yeah. I think that's a really great reminder for all of us. And finally number three, we all travel a lot in these jobs. What is your number one travel hack when traveling back to Italy or just across the country for for various things? Well, honestly, I don't talk. But, one thing, I value when I travel doing market work is, deliberately taking the time to establish a personal connection with the people. Yeah. That's related to to what you you said earlier about just being authentic and personalized outreach. I think that was such a long way and such an important reminder. So thank you for sharing those insights. So, Fabrizio, thank you again for joining us today. How can our listeners connect with you and follow along with everything that's happening with us in my USA? Well, following through our website, w w w dot millesema dash usa dot com. They can contact me at f germano at millesima dot com. And honestly, if they want to call me six four six nine one eight nine six four four. As I said Okay. Personal connection with people is the I love that. That's great. So many ways to connect with you, Fabrice. Thank you again. Good luck with the rest of the a holiday season, and the opening next year, we can't wait to visit Nuasima in twenty twenty four. Thank you very much, and happy holiday to everybody. Happy holidays. Thank you for joining me today. Stay tuned each week for new episodes of Master Class US wine market with me, Juliana Colangelo. I remember if you enjoyed today's show, hit the like and follow buttons wherever you get your podcasts.