Ambra to fight for market shares in Poland

2010-07-12

Ambra, one of the largest distributors of wine in Poland, is planning to fight for market share. In June 2010, the company acquired El Sol, a popular wine brand previously owned by Carlsberg Polska. The latter brand, which is the fifth largest player on the wine market, is expected to rival Carlo Rossi, a wine market leader which belongs to the CEDC. Therefore, as a result of the El Sol acquisition Ambra expects to increase its revenues by PLN 10m (€2.5m) to around PLN 500m (€125m) in the 2010/2011 fiscal year which started on 1 July. Sales are also expected to be boosted by the intensive promotion of the company’s other brands, including Dorato and CinCin. In addition, the company plans to open several new wine stores in 2010. At present, the chain consists of 24 establishments.
Ambra has not yet disclosed its results for 2009/2010, but preliminary estimates suggest a net profit of PLN 15m (€3.7m). By way of comparison in 2008/2009 the distributor earned sales revenues of PLN 429m (€105.3m) and made a net profit of PLN 5m (€1.2m).
In 2009, the wine market in Poland grew by 2.5% in terms of volume and 7% by value, despite the fact that the beer and vodka markets witnessed a decline in sales. In the next few years the wine market is expected to grow by around 8% year per annum in terms of volume.