wine clubs and direct sales: learning a lesson from USA

When a strategy is successful it may become diffused among many firms, which can be subsequently categorized as early, late, me too, or differentiated followers (Lieberman and Montgomery, 1988). In the wine business we can find many examples of the first mover-follower dynamic: some companies have been the first to introduce a certain package for selling their wine, release a certain type of wine (Nesto, 2001), or introduce specific grape varietals (Helzer, 2001); other countries have been the first to export in certain markets (Thorpe, 2009). In this chapter we will focus on wine clubs (more specifically on wineries’ wine clubs) that are widely diffused in the US, especially in California, and have demonstrated success in improving wineries’ performance. The strategy implemented by Californian wineries who have started their own wine clubs can also be followed by Tuscan wineries. In particular, we will present the pioneer case of the first wine club associated with a winery in Tuscany. We will analyze the role of wine clubs in enhancing customer loyalty. In particular, this chapter will: •Outline the strategic importance of wine clubs in companies’ performance; •Describe how wine clubs work and how they can be implemented by wineries; •Provide a descriptive framework for analyzing and classifying wine clubs according to their strategic commitment; •Describe the case of a Tuscan wine club.