When CNBC presenter Carl Quintanilla offered that wine was different to
toilet paper because it’s personal, Alvarez-Peters replied: “People can look at
it that way, but at the end of the day it's just a beverage, you either like it
or you don’t.” Alvarez-Peters is in charge of over US$1bn in wine sales per
year, including fine wines like Château Mouton Rothshild and Château Pétrus.
She is also in charge of setting prices on wines that affect most of
America’s small wine retailers, as well as heading a team of 17 international
and domestic wine buyers. Before taking on the role of director of wine buying,
Alvarez-Peters worked as a buyer in Costco's electronics
division. She had no wine and spirits knowledge.
“I’m an employee of Costco that happens to oversee the wine category,”
she told Quintanilla. Last year, Alvarez-Peters was voted the sixth most
powerful person in the wine world in Decanter magazines biennial power
list. Costco is the largest US importer of French fine wines, none of which are
marked up more than 15%. Alvarez-Peters keeps the Costco wine selection down to
just 200 lines at any one time.
Costco is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the US, the
sixth largest retailer in the US, and the seventh largest retailer in the
world. This week, the retail giant will be jostling with Woolworths and Coles
in Australia to offer the lowest price for Penfolds Grange 2007, set to go on
sale on Thursday. One of the most anticipated launches of the year in
Australia, the RRP for Grange 2007 is AU$625, but it is thought that the big
three will offer it for significantly less.
Wine is no different than toilet paper? - well I do keep running out of both...
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