Two top female directors of the Swedish retail liquor monopoly Systembolaget AB will share the guest speaker platform at the 36th Nederburg Auction of rare Cape wines on Saturday, 4 September. Sweden is currently South Africa’s third biggest export destination for wines, accounting for 9.93% of total sales volumes, which grew by 14.9% in the 12-month period between May 2009 and 2010.

Swedes purchase more South African wine than that from any other country worldwide. Marie Nygren, Vice President and Director of Purchases and Supply Chain Management and Sara Norell, Head of Purchasing in the Supply Chain Management division, will jointly represent the Swedish alcohol retail monopoly Systembolaget AB at this year’s event. The monopoly started in the mid-1800s and is the only retail channel through which alcohol is sold in Sweden.  Established to minimise alcohol-related problems by controlling the sale of liquor it currently has 413 stores, approximately 4 700 employees and an annual turnover of 23 billion Swedish Krona (SEK), an equivalent of just under R22.4 billion.

Both women have been with the company for three years. Prior to joining the Systembolaget in 2007, Marie was CEO of Adara AB, a fully owned subsidiary to Apoteket, the former Swedish Pharmacy Monopoly. Sara has a background in import and supply and was previously Director for Arvid Nordquist Wine and Spirit Merchants, a company she was with for 11 years. Her current responsibilities include category management, purchasing and product selection, and quality control, including sensoric as well as chemical analyses.

Marie and Sara will provide further insight into the Systembolaget and its mission, which includes a strong focus on corporate social responsibility, and future trends. They will also offer a perspective on South Africa in the Swedish market, focusing on the wine category and its growth, including the success of South African wines.  
“I really look forward to participating and offering a viewpoint on the wine industry from the perspective of a European monopoly”; says Marie. “In pursuing our goal of creating a healthy drinking culture, we want to inspire people to take an interest in what they drink and to focus on quality rather than quantity, a principle that I feel resonates with a premium wine event such as the Nederburg Auction”.