小規模ワイナリーの販路規定構造 : 北海道余市町を事例として

small-scale winery

北海道大学農經論叢

The aim of this paper is to clarify the structure for determining the sales channel for small-scale wineries in Yoichi, Hokkaido. The analysis revealed the following. Wineries that were started for the purpose of business diversification use the wholesaling channels of existing businesses. Older wineries that were founded earlier were able to rather easily connect to the retailers that moved first during the seventh wine boom in Japan. In contrast, comparatively newer wineries established after the market expansion had stabilized needed to work harder to find retailers independently or through introductions from their training institutions, eventually connecting mainly to latecomer retailers who searched for these wineries. In addition, the retailers who had moved first accepted sales proposals from the newer wineries and began to trade with them, while the latecomer retailers approached older wineries and began to trade with them. These findings suggest that the distribution structure of small-scale wineries has been shaped by the timing of their market entry; specifically, whether they entered the market during a period of growth or a period of maturity.