Blending Tradition and Innovation in Bordeaux: A Differentiation Strategy for Château Luchey-Halde

Abstract

Pierre Darriet, the director of operations of Château Luchey-Halde, a wine producer located in Bordeaux, France, wanted to create a recognized brand in the world of great wines. He wondered how to best tell the Château Luchey-Halde story to achieve this distinction. While Pierre regarded innovation and sustainability as the keys to making a quality wine, he knew that French distributors and consumers considered tradition as a wine's most important attribute. Could a new positioning strategy that blended tradition, innovation, and environmental stewardship help to improve sales? Could Château Luchey-Halde's business model accommodate both tradition and innovation in order to differentiate its brands and create lifetime customer value in a crowded marketplace for wine?In France, these regulations were administered by a governmental institution, INAO (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine) which was created in 1936. Moreover, Bordeaux is the largest AOC appellation of France.