Premium Brands Will Fuel Their Growth

Article Excerpt

Andrew Peller and Molson Coors continue to expand their premium brands. That will help them profit from a growing interest in luxury items, particularly among aging baby boomers. ANDREW PELLER LTD. $9 (Toronto symbol ADW.A; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 14.9 million; Market cap: $134.1 million; SI Rating: Above average) operates wineries in Ontario, Nova Scotia and B.C. The company has built up its premium wine business in the past few years, mainly through acquisitions. That has helped it expand its market share to about 12% of the Canadian wine market . This expansion has also let Peller take advantage of growing overseas demand for Canadian wines, particularly luxury icewines. Exports to the United States and Asia now account for about 40% of Canadian icewine production. Peller is now facing growing competition in this field, including counterfeits from China. The high Canadian dollar also makes wine imports cheaper. As well, a leading Chinese winery plans to build the world’s largest icewine estate. However,…