The founder of the Nicolas cellars is nothing less than the inventor, in the 19th century, the sale of bottled wine in specialized stores ! Xavier Segall, development director of Nicolas at Covino, demonstrates how the spirit of innovation from the beginning has continued to this day.
Meeting Leader : Nicolas celebrates his bicentenary in 2022. Why is this seniority important in Reunion Island? ?
Xavier Segall : two hundred years ! It’s rare enough to have a company in France that is celebrating so many years of activity.. As a Nicolas master franchisee in the Indian Ocean, this anniversary date is obviously important to us. Imagine that 1822, it is a year after the death of Napoleon ! This house, who has known how to transcend the ages and perpetually reinvent himself, was a pioneer in many things. We must first of all remember that it was the creator of the brand “Louis NICOLAS” who had this idea., revolutionary in its time, to sell bottled wine ! A century later, Nicolas was also a pioneer in advertising. The brand launched into “advertising”, as they said, with illustrations and using contemporary artists. This is one of them, the designer Dransy who imagined the famous Nectar character who has long symbolized the brand. Even today, Nicolas is reinventing himself with the sale of wine online and with stores with completely redesigned designs.. It is essential for us to celebrate and perpetuate this tradition.
What form will this celebration take in Reunion? ?
We are taking advantage of this anniversary to highlight our stores, our wine merchants, and thank our customers. So we create events per store. We meet our clients over ten dates to explain Nicolas’ story to them., in mainland France but also on the island. Nicolas has been based in Reunion since 2000 : 22 ans. It also seemed important to us to remember. Nicolas’ 200th birthday will also be celebrated in the countries where our master franchise extends., like Madagascar and Mauritius.
Where is the Nicolas franchise in the region? ?
She is doing very well. In the meeting, we opened our tenth store in Saint-Joseph on July 1st. There are three Nicolas cellars in Madagascar and two in Mauritius.. A fourth cellar could see the light of day in Madagascar by the end of the year...
Do you have other development projects, in Mayotte for example ?
Mayotte, Seychelles, South Africa… We have ambition and we are not closing the door to any area of the Indian Ocean. We do not have any concrete plans at the moment, but it is clear that we do not wish to stop at our current position. We are in a perspective of developing the master franchise. It will take as long as it takes.
Nicolas is renovating its stores in mainland France : will the Reunion shops also change their appearance? ?
This is already the case. Nicolas also reinvents himself through his points of sale. Depending on the positioning of the store, the area in which it is located, we will find Nicolas cellars more oriented towards gifts, others more traditional. What we see again, it's the design, the furniture, the equipment. A store design is renewed approximately every seven years. This is what we are doing in Reunion. Our project is to renovate existing stores at the same time as we open new ones., in order to maintain our network’s homogeneity.
On the occasion of its 200th anniversary, Nicolas called on contemporary artists to imagine who would best embody Nectar today, his once iconic character created 100 years ago. And the new Nectar wine merchant of 2022 is a woman ! Does this mean that female customers are becoming dominant in the wine market? ?</strong
It is a strong symbol, Effectively, but which nevertheless has nothing revolutionary. Women consume wine as much as men. At Nicolas, our clientele is split 50/50 between men and women. This new feminine “Nectar” once again confirms that Nicolas knows how to adapt, reinvent yourself, depending on the evolution of society. It’s a natural attitude for the brand.
Rosés are on the rise in mainland France. Is this also the case in Reunion? ?
The rosés, which were small, extremely seasonal summer wines, have become wines of good quality and common consumption, available all year round. In the meeting, a few more years ago, the rosé offering was not as plentiful as it is today. The rosé phenomenon really started here, five years ago. There is a demand for quality from consumers today on these wines.
Nicolas also offers alcohol-free wines. Is there a growing demand for these wines ?
Yes, there is a demand in Reunion for non-alcoholic wines and spirits which deserves to be noted. This is a trend that we see at Nicolas, and we also play this card with the Sparkling (sparkling) alcohol-free from South Africa. We also have non-alcoholic spirits such as whiskey and gin used to make mocktails. (cocktail without alcohol). This is a completely new product. With non-alcoholic wines and spirits, Nicolas remains more than ever faithful to his
Comments collected by Olivier Soufflet
Photos Pierre Marchal
