Getting Better with Time: E&J Gallo Winery Takes Off
Getting Better with Time: E&J Gallo Winery Takes Off
In little time, Thunderbird became one of Gallo’s most popular products. A radio jingle for the wine quickly became a hit: “What's the word? /Thunderbird/ How's it sold?/ Good and cold/What's the jive?/ Bird's alive/ What's the price?/ Thirty twice.” In one of Gallo’s proudest moments, he recalled driving through a tough, inner city neighbourhood and rolling down his window to talk to a man on the street. “What’s the word?” he yelled out. “Thunderbird,” came the answer.
Gallo drove his employees hard and demanded much from them, but not more than he ever asked of himself. Often working 16-hour days and traveling across the country on sales missions by car, Gallo once had to be hospitalized for six months due to exhaustion.
Shortly after starting up, the Gallo brothers were already selling three million gallons of wine a year. Gallo’s natural talent for sales helped push their product onto a broad national market. Despite its early focus on producing cheap wines, the company eventually began to shift upscale.
The Winery soon began releasing vintage wines. Many critics who had previously labeled Gallo as nothing more than a mass-producer of bland wines were soon won over with its newest labels. Its non-vintage Cabernet and Chardonnay, priced at just $5 a bottle, were also winning over converts. Indeed, Gallo was quickly building a reputation as something of a wine connoisseur.
In the 1980s, wine sales throughout the U.S. began to stagnate. Instead of losing momentum, Gallo looked elsewhere for opportunities. He found them in Europe, particularly in the British market. In four years, Gallo spent more money on marketing in Europe than all the other wine firms of the world combined. The costly strategy worked, and soon Gallo had built himself a global brand.
In 1993, his brother, Julio, died in a car crash. Despite the loss, Gallo continued to push hard to make his wines the most popular in the world. Eventually, Gallo would come to dominate the U.S. wine industry. In fact, until 2003, when one of its competitors expanded through a merger, Gallo was the largest producer of wines anywhere in the world.
Gallo died on March 6, 2007 at the age of 97. He worked at the company he founded until his very last days. Today, his collection of wineries and labels, all of which are privately owned, employs more than 4,600 workers, sells wine in over 90 countries, and earns revenues in excess of $2.8 billion.
Getting Better with Time EJ Gallo Winery Takes Off
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It was 1933. Prohibition was coming to an end in the U.S. and Gallo wanted to be ready to go when it finally did. Together, he and his brother launched E&J Gallo Winery. With Julio in charge of the vineyard, Gallo went to work looking after the winery’s sales operations. His strategy from the get-go was to market cheap, fortified wines to inner city markets. With 20 percent alcohol content, Gallo wines such as White Port and Thunderbird were first introduced to consumers.
In little time, Thunderbird became one of Gallo’s most popular products. A radio jingle for the wine quickly became a hit: “What's the word? /Thunderbird/ How's it sold?/ Good and cold/What's the jive?/ Bird's alive/ What's the price?/ Thirty twice.” In one of Gallo’s proudest moments, he recalled driving through a tough, inner city neighbourhood and rolling down his window to talk to a man on the street. “What’s the word?” he yelled out. “Thunderbird,” came the answer.
Gallo drove his employees hard and demanded much from them, but not more than he ever asked of himself. Often working 16-hour days and traveling across the country on sales missions by car, Gallo once had to be hospitalized for six months due to exhaustion.
Shortly after starting up, the Gallo brothers were already selling three million gallons of wine a year. Gallo’s natural talent for sales helped push their product onto a broad national market. Despite its early focus on producing cheap wines, the company eventually began to shift upscale.
The Winery soon began releasing vintage wines. Many critics who had previously labeled Gallo as nothing more than a mass-producer of bland wines were soon won over with its newest labels. Its non-vintage Cabernet and Chardonnay, priced at just $5 a bottle, were also winning over converts. Indeed, Gallo was quickly building a reputation as something of a wine connoisseur.
In the 1980s, wine sales throughout the U.S. began to stagnate. Instead of losing momentum, Gallo looked elsewhere for opportunities. He found them in Europe, particularly in the British market. In four years, Gallo spent more money on marketing in Europe than all the other wine firms of the world combined. The costly strategy worked, and soon Gallo had built himself a global brand.
In 1993, his brother, Julio, died in a car crash. Despite the loss, Gallo continued to push hard to make his wines the most popular in the world. Eventually, Gallo would come to dominate the U.S. wine industry. In fact, until 2003, when one of its competitors expanded through a merger, Gallo was the largest producer of wines anywhere in the world.
Gallo died on March 6, 2007 at the age of 97. He worked at the company he founded until his very last days. Today, his collection of wineries and labels, all of which are privately owned, employs more than 4,600 workers, sells wine in over 90 countries, and earns revenues in excess of $2.8 billion.
Getting Better with Time EJ Gallo Winery Takes Off
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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