Largest Georgian wine exporter plans to sell 1,800,000 bottles of wine in 2010

The FINANCIAL - In 2009, Tbilvino became the biggest Georgian wine exporter, selling 1,381,405 bottles of wine. In 2010 the company plans to increase sales by 20%. “Frequently improving, stable quality is a key factor of the Tbilvino brand,” said Giorgi Margvelashvili, Company Director. This year Tbilvino received a Golden Brand Award, underlining the popularity and creativity of the brand in Georgia.

Last year Tbilvino exported wine to 20 countries; among them entirely new markets such as Finland, Sweden, China, Hong-Kong, Ireland and Uzbekistan. The Company Director says that many factors determine a business’s development, but the most important is a motivated team, stable business environment, success and realistic aims.

The global economic changes made the management of the company adapt with the existing environment of each foreign country. However, the ambitious plans of the company include entering more new markets, including the USA, Norway, Denmark, Singapore, and new provinces of China.

************

The total volume of wine sold in 2009 was 1,381,405 bottles. In 2008 - 1,241,477 bottles of wine

************

Margvelashvili said that the political changes in Ukraine did not influence the Tbilvino business.
“We have not felt any negative results from the Ukrainian political changes. However we were influenced by the Ukrainian economical downturn,” he said.

“I do not think that Ukraine will repeat Russian’s decision to ban Georgian wine,” Margveashvili believes.

Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Azerbaijan and China are the largest importers of Tbilvino products.

“The wide geography of export, popularity of brand, stable quality and price are our main advantages,” Margvelashvili said.

In 2010 the company will try to penetrate new markets, such as USA, Norway, Denmark, Singapore, and new provinces of China.

“The main challenges for Tbilvino in 2010 will be increasing the sales volume, occupying new markets and maintaining profitability,” the Company Director believes.

Last year Tbilvino produced Cabernet for the first time. This year the company plans to blend it with Saperavi, the famous Georgian vine and produce a brand new wine - Cabernet Saperavi.

In 2009 Tbilvino was recommended for ISO 9001(Quality Management System) and ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System) certificate. The companies certification audit was conducted by SGS - Société Générale de Surveillance, one of the biggest companies in this field worldwide. The Certification Body was UKAS (The United Kingdom Accreditation Service), which is a worldwide recognized and influential international standards’ accreditation organ. Receiving these certificates was very important for the company, because it gives the ability to control the quality at every stage of the production, to encounter all threats and to evaluate them effectively and finally to produce a nutritionally safe product.

From the point of view of international trade, the mentioned systems place Tbilvino among the other world known established companies, which are controlled by the most effective management system.

In 2009, Tbilvino wine was awarded with 2 gold and 4 silver medals, among the 14 medals from the most prestigious international competitions.

In 2009, Tbilvino participated in four prestigious international competitions: International Wine and Spirit Competition, Decanter, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and The Berlin Wine Trophy.

Among the awards received were 2 gold, 4 silver and 8 bronze medals.

Tbilvino improved its results significantly at international competitions compared to the year 2008. The previous year Tbilvino received 11 medals.