Let's explore the highlights of the interview.
In this interview, we were joined by Helmut Zozin, Director of Manincor Winery. This is a family-owned business located in South Tyrol, in the Caldaro area. Helmuth wanted to share his business experience with direct sales to private customers abroad. He provided an overview of how the company’s approach to foreign wine tourists has changed since they began engaging with them directly, both from the point of sale at the winery and through their wine club.
In the following paragraphs, we will discover how their method of selling and shipping to the end consumer abroad, including customs management, has evolved since they began using Direct from Italy’s systems integrated into their wine club.
The points we will cover are:
- Manincor Winery: some information about the company.
- Where the DFI system is used: point of sale and online
- What has changed in the work method and time management
- The willingness to purchase during the winery visit
- Goals achieved and assumptions for the coming years
- Customer loyalty: from point of sale to online
- Inventory management, stock, and last-minute offers
- The numbers: online sales and/or point of sale sales
- Consumption habits at the point of sale: the importance of data collection
- Effective marketing at a lower cost
- Opening direct sales to foreign markets: number of countries approached
- The relationship with importers and D2C sales
- The order process: customs procedures, courier organization
- Compliance with customs regulations abroad
- The benefits of the Direct from Italy solution in two words
1. Tell us something about Manincor Winery
“We are a family-owned business, Manincor Winery, with 52 hectares of vineyards under biodynamic cultivation. The company is located in South Tyrol, in the so-called ‘beyond the Adige’ area. We produce our red wines in the Caldaro region and our white wines, including Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon, in the Terlano area.
So we are well positioned; we are fortunate to have large vineyards in the most renowned areas of South Tyrol. From these 52 hectares, we produce between 350,000 and 400,000 bottles of wine, which we export to various parts of the world, reaching 45 countries.
Our strong point is primarily the local South Tyrolean market, which is very tourist-oriented. Therefore, direct sales from our point of sale account for nearly a quarter of our product, approximately 20-25%.
In this context, we have also developed our online sales, which primarily serve to further supply our regular customers, allowing them to shop from home. This is particularly useful because they may not visit every year or drink more than expected, or they might have friends to whom they want to gift bottles. In any case, we want to ensure they are well-stocked, and that’s why we developed the online sales service in collaboration with you.”
2. Where is the Direct from Italy system used? Only at the point of sale or also online?
“In the end, online sales are connected to the point of sale. 99% of online sales are primarily to our existing customers.
This is our strategy because we do not want to interfere with our retailers who also have their own online sales. Therefore, we focus on our regular customers, who number over 5,000 potential clients. It’s enough for us to provide excellent service to these customers, which is why we need the Direct from Italy service.”
3. How has your work method and time management changed compared to before in terms of order processing, both at the winery and online? Are you actually able to save more time?
“Yes, I must say that before we relied on an external retailer to handle all the logistics, and it was all much more static and complicated.
Now we are very flexible; we can provide any product to our customers. Managing quantities and everything else is much easier. At any moment, we can change anything; we are extremely flexible. Our work is limited to preparing the product for shipment, and we don’t have to worry about logistics.”
4. Has the willingness to purchase changed for people visiting? Are they encouraged to buy larger quantities of wine knowing they can have it conveniently shipped home?
“I believe so. This convenience is important for many. In our case, it’s a bit different because 99% of our customers arrive by car, so they take their products with them.
But I increasingly see that there are also people arriving by plane, using other public transport, or biking to taste our wines. For this type of customer, who obviously cannot take the product with them, the ability to have it shipped is crucial and significantly increases sales opportunities.”
5. Having reached €100,000 in product sales in your first year of using the system, how much do you think it’s possible to increase that amount further?
“I am confident that we have significant potential from this perspective. Until now, we have operated online sales with the brakes on, so to speak, without actively promoting this type of sale because our point of sale works really well. However, as mentioned, there is great potential.
Right now, we are around €100,000, but I believe our potential is much greater. I expect that in the coming years, we will achieve two times, perhaps even three to four times more.“
6.Have you noticed if customers who purchased at the point of sale and never before online have also made online purchases afterward?
“Yes, of course, many do repurchase. However, as mentioned, for now, we don’t heavily incentivize this because we are fortunate that our product is in high demand and we often sell out in advance. Therefore, we promote online repurchases very little.
But aside from that, many of our customers take advantage of it and make repeat purchases. This is also because the system is very simple. They have everything they are used to having in our point of sale, and they can do it online. Moreover, we are very flexible; we can add any type of product for any customer. We can even promote an older vintage, a newly released wine, or a particular wine that we have left in stock because, for instance, a customer in the United States may have picked up 500 fewer bottles. We are extremely flexible in offering our customers these products because handling everything directly makes logistics very straightforward.”
7. Is it easier to manage inventory, stock levels, and create last-minute offers with our system?
“Absolutely, because you have the inventory right at your fingertips, and you can add any product you think is appropriate to offer to your customers. You can even choose which specific customer to target. It might not be available to everyone, but only to customers from a specific country, a certain target group, or those who have previously purchased that product. In short, you have a thousand flexibilities and options to manage your promotions.”
8. Have you noticed an increase in sales at the winery, or in online sales compared to before?
“Right now, as mentioned, since we have our product in limited quantities and have not actively sold our products in recent years, the changes are not very dynamic. They are quite static because you assign a certain number of bottles to your sales in a specific channel, and that’s it. You can’t increase them; if anything, you might run out a few weeks or a month earlier. So, no, it’s not because there hasn’t been demand, but because we haven’t produced more.
We don’t profit from the shipping; we charge for it in full. We don’t run promotions or offer discounts on shipping, which does limit us. Obviously, this could incentivize sales if we offered discounts on shipping or combined certain packages, and so on. However, we are not doing any of these things at the moment, but they are in the pipeline, ready to be utilized when we need them.”
9. By using the solution for point-of-sale sales, have you been able to accurately gather data on your customers’ consumption habits?
“Yes. Of course, we register our customers; we have a Wine Club where customers typically sign up, enjoying only benefits and no disadvantages, so they are very willing to join. Therefore, for each customer, we know exactly their purchasing habits, which is very convenient because it allows us to create tailored packages for specific types of customers.”
10. So we can say it results in more effective marketing at a lower cost?
“I think it’s much more effective. In the end, from my experience, it’s much easier to generate additional revenue, let’s say sales, from a customer who already knows you and is accustomed to buying from you than to acquire new customers. So, having a portfolio of customers who are already inclined to purchase your wines is like having a goldmine.”
11. In how many countries that we manage are you targeting? Have you approached any new countries?
“Well, yes, we are now targeting a few. Managing countries like the United States, England, and the Scandinavian countries is quite simple, although the costs are higher compared to Central Europe or the EU. However, it works, and customers accept it. For us, it’s somewhat marginal because in our area, the tourists are mainly Italian, German, Swiss, Austrian, and a bit from the Benelux countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. In all these countries, it works very well.”
12. By activating direct sales to foreign private customers, have you encountered any issues with your importers?
“No, we haven’t encountered any issues, partly because, as mentioned, we focus our online sales on our existing customers from our shop and direct sales at the winery, and much less, if at all, on new customers. Therefore, our pricing policy is entirely aimed at leaving the appropriate space for our retailers. So, no, this conflict doesn’t exist, but it obviously depends on your online sales strategy. If you engage in aggressive online sales with prices much lower than those of your retailers, then problems will inevitably arise.”
13. What operations do you need to carry out after loading the order on your site or at the point of sale? Do you have to handle the relevant customs procedures and contact any couriers?
“No, fortunately, we can focus on our work, making wine, promoting it, and selling it. This is our strong point. As I mentioned earlier, the logistics works perfectly and autonomously for us. We only need to prepare the package for shipment, and then everything else is handled by the Direct from Italy system.”
14. How does it make you feel to be able to operate in full compliance with regulations using software approved by customs?
“Yes, this was also an important point for us because, as an agricultural company, we are already advantaged by the Italian tax system, fortunately. Therefore, we place great importance on being compliant with all customs and VAT management systems in the different countries.
We didn’t want to operate in a gray area where it’s unclear whether something is allowed or not, but in the end, everyone does it anyway.
No, we are happy to be compliant from this perspective, and we are glad to be in good hands that respond promptly to new legal developments. We don’t feel like we’re on a journey through the fog, which can be very easy in these cases because you never know, right? So, no, we prefer to proceed with caution in this case.”
15. What are the benefits of having adopted our solution?
“For us, the biggest advantage is that we can manage the sale of products, we have the inventory in-house, and we can offer any product at any time, even individual bottles. We also sell large formats and special editions, so we can provide everything to any of our customers.
We can focus on our work, and the system operates perfectly from an organizational and logistical standpoint.
In other words, you have everything in hand without having to deal with the pesky details, and I like that; for me, it’s the perfect solution. It has become simpler, more manageable, and more flexible. At the moment, I have nothing to complain about. In the end, we are satisfied.”
We thank Helmuth for his great availability!
