Samenvatting

The wine industry in the Czech Republic is a main economic sector, which is verified since the country entered the Europe in 2004. It has a strategic logistic position for exporting to Central and Eastern Europe and has the widest network of hypermarkets and supermarkets in Europe. On another hand, independent wine shops sell wines of quality and represent 10% of the market. Today there are more than one thousand specialised shops in the Czech Republic that range from large to smaller family companies. Even though, independent wine shops are the smallest distribution channel for wine in the Czech Republic, it is in constant development within the Czech Republic and Europe. Wine trade is a challenge today with global, national and local competition, in result of the different wine regions, different appellations and different producers. Differentiationis an important aspect for wine companies that want to sell wines and reach consumers and it is done though marketing. Independent wine shops in Prague need marketing to make differentiation with the rivalry as 10% of the market belongs to this category. Thus, the paper research aims at understanding how to improve sales of an independent wine shop in Prague throughout marketing strategy. Therefore, the research is further divided into three sub-questions which are: Which marketing strategy can be adapted to customers? Who is buying wine in independent shop in Prague? Which marketing communication tools can be used by an independent company to attract consumers? To find these elements, a desk research is used to provide literature, a survey is presented to independent wine shops customers and interviews are conducted with marketing professionals working in wine shops. It is found that independent wine shops customers are mainly men aged between 26 and 45 years old. Customers are amateurs of wine and come to these kinds of shops for the quality of wine, the quality of information and the proximity with the seller. The main factors which lead to purchase are the quality of wine, the price of the bottle and the country of origin of the wine. Regarding the marketing strategy, wine shops should analyse customers though market segmentation to then adapt an own marketing strategy reflecting the features of different customers group which have been found. Results of the different interviews conducted highlights that the main marketing communication tool used by independent wine shops to attract customers is social media. In conclusion, independent wine shops should be focused on different customer groups and respective features to adapt the marketing strategy. This is possible, among others, by conducting a marketing customers segmentation. A profile of customers of wine shops is also good to have to underpin the market customers segmentation. Thereafter, wine shops are ready to implement the more relevant marketing tools into the marketing strategy in order to improve sales and attract new customers.