NZWG global marketing director, Chris Yorke, said “We will be recruiting for a successor to drive our exciting projects in Europe.
“In the UK, New Zealand wine is in good shape – we are showing the biggest growth in value share for a New World country (Nielsen April 2012) and at £6.33 have the highest average retail price per bottle (Nielsen April 2012)," he said.
“In Mainland Europe New Zealand Winegrowers is working in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to launch and build the New Zealand Wine brand in Germany, Netherlands and Sweden. We will be looking for an experienced, credible wine marketer who wants to be part of the next stage of New Zealand wine’s growth in Europe,” said Yorke.
Cox told Drinks International: "After three years in the role, I just thought that the time was right to move on. It is the beginning of our new financial year and so it was an appropriate time to depart. There are other opportunities that I would like to consider and I will take some time to assess these. I do not have a concrete role to go and my thoughts on other avenues have not crystallised just yet. However, I am looking forward to what the future brings".
David Cox along with his twin brother, Michael who heads up Wines of Chile in the UK, is a well known figure in the UK wine trade. He was formerly head of Brown-Forman Wines Europe. The decision is not altogether a surprise to those close to Cox.
