Speaking to TheShout about the expanded alliance between the McWilliam’s Wine Group (MWG) and Fogarty Wine Group (FWG), Jeff McWilliam said he is proud of what the company has achieved with Evans & Tate, and excited about what the future brings.
MWG & FWG have merged their Evans & Tate assets into the Margaret River Vintners business, to create a single Western Australian entity, which McWilliam believes will help continue the success of the brand.
“It’s a great story in terms of what we have done and also in terms of what Fogarty’s have done in the background with the production side and maintaining the growers. This is very much a partnership and we are very proud of where we have taken the business. This will give us the platform to take it to the next level,” McWilliam said.
“This is very much an evolution of what [we and Fogarty] started five years ago, and from a point of view of what we’ve done with Evans & Tate since we acquired it, we are very proud of it. It’s a success story out of the region and it is the most successful brand out of Margaret River. For us this is a very positive story and a great chapter in the future of Evans & Tate.
“We’re quite excited about now being more involved in the production side of the business, because at the heart of it we are winemakers.”
In looking forward for the future of MWG, McWilliam told TheShout: “We are excited about being more involved in the Western Australian production-side and I’m looking forward to getting across onto the board over there and being part of that future.
“We are really proud of where we have got the Mount Pleasant brand to, especially with it being named as Winery of the Year by James Halliday. But the brand for us is McWilliam’s, that’s really where the focus is and there is going to be a lot of above the line advertising around our more traditional ranges like Hanwood, Fruitwood Inheritance which are all getting a pack change or refresh.
“Then we are also trying to promote more the emerging NSW regional wines through our new McW brand and that was an important directional change for those cooler climate, emerging region wines.”
“We see that as the future of our mid-tier to premium wines within the McWilliam’s family.”
Speaking about the expanded relationship with Fogarty Wine Group, MWG Chairman and Director of Margaret River Vintners, Jim Brayne, said the two companies will combine their distribution activities with MWG supporting all east coast sales and FWG taking over distribution in Western Australia for all MWG and FWG sales.
“The expanded alliance is a great outcome for both businesses. It is a logical next step for MWG as we consolidate our premium wine brands. The transfer of Evans & Tate will allow MWG to refocus on its east coast assets at a time when the Company embarks upon a major relaunch of its McWilliam’s and Mount Pleasant brands,” Brayne said.
“MWG has taken Evans & Tate to significantly higher volumes since we acquired it in 2007 and, through the expanded alliance with FWG, we expect growth to accelerate. Moreover, we have identified substantial synergies in merging the Evans & Tate and MRV businesses. We also believe the merger will see MRV better positioned to realise the growth opportunities emerging in the wine industry.
“The FWG and MWG management have built a strong relationship over ten years since Peter Fogarty assisted us with the acquisition of Evans & Tate back in 2007. We expect the expanded MRV alliance to flourish.”