Inventories in the wine sector: A strategic question
Résumé
The wine sector is currently facing multiple challenges. Wine inventories are a key issue in this sector. Inventory implications cover different dimensions: strategic, accounting and financial. This chapter presents an exploratory study focusing on still wines, in order to shed light on wine inventory determinants, wine storage behaviors and strategies of wine companies, in relation to their performance. The study combines interviews with wine business executives and experts related to the wine sector. It seeks to identify different strategies implemented in the wine sector, to analyze their specificities and implications. The chapter presents wine products and wine sector specificities, justifying the need to carefully study wine inventories. It discusses inventory determinants and their relationship with several dimensions of a company. The chapter also describes wine company behavior in terms of wine inventory management as well as the main issues they face.