The organisers have announced that Vinexpo New York will be held on March 5 and 6, 2018 at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
This is not the first time the Bordeaux-based organisers have tried to succeed in the US. It tried in 2002 and then again two years later in Chicago. In 2012 it tried a consumer event, called Rendez-Vous by Vinexpo, also due to be held at Javits. It was cancelled due to a poor response from potential exhibitors.
The organisers now say Vinexpo New York reflects a new drive to capitalise on the Vinexpo group’s expertise and skills. Having carried out focused analysis of clients’ needs and expectations – both producers and buyers – the Group identified which partnerships are crucial to providing an attractive offer tailored to the American market.
Guillaume Deglise, Vinexpo’s CEO, said: "We were clear that we wanted to be a springboard for our clients to enter the buoyant US market, but we wouldn’t do it until we were sure of providing an effective platform that guarantees success. Now we’re ready.”
Vinexpo New York will be an annual event organised with American firm Diversified Communications, a leading event manager in the US.
"The Vinexpo brand is attractive to the many American buyers who already come to Bordeaux,” says Deglise. “So we know the main US importers, distributors and retailers will attend. We’re also setting our sights well beyond the East Coast, since we’re targeting the states that, between them, account for 80% of wine imports by volume.”
The US currently imports 1.1 billion bottles of wine per annum, with the IWSR research, commissioned by Vinexpo, forecasting 6.9% growth by 2020. it says this market is also driving a worldwide increase in imported spirits, buying almost 1.2 billion bottles a year with a very strong bias towards all categories of premium spirits.
As a pivotal point for wine and spirit imports to the US, Vinexpo organisers believe New York offers a gateway to this important market, as well as being a nerve centre that everyone can easily reach.
