4.4: Use a Broker

Question 1

What types of fees do brokers charge?

Answer 1

• smaller fees than distributors
• usually 2% of the contract price
• can range from 1% to 5%

Question 2

What are the main benefits of using a broker for producers?

Answer 2

• intimate knowledge of a particular (often specialised) market
• different specialities, some concentrating on sales of bulk wine, others on sales of small-production wine
• can bring together a buyer (e.g. a supermarket or merchant) and a seller (e.g. a co-operative or grower), saving the parties the time and effort of seeking each other out

Question 3

What knowledge must a broker bring to a deal?

Answer 3

• seller: what wine producers have available to sell, what prices they are willing to sell at
• buyer: what style and volume of wine buyers are looking for and what price they are prepared to pay

Question 4

What role do brokers in Bordeaux play?

Answer 4

• have legal status

- play an important role, acting as intermediaries between the châteaux and nègociants