Analyzing the Factors that Drive Wine Sales in Sweden : A Regression Analysis

Sammanfattning: This thesis is a combined study of applied mathematical statistics and industrial engineering and management implemented to analyze and determine the success factors in the Swedish wine market to increase the profitability of wine producers. Hence, this thesis applied both a quantitative and qualitative approach to address this aim. From a mathematical perspective, a linear regression model was applied on red and white wine to identify how wine characteristics affect the number of bottles sold. The regression is based on data obtained from Systembolaget, consisting of the sales statistics from 2015. From an industrial engineering and management perspective, the theories of Humphery and Kotler and Armstrong are applied on the wine market to obtain further sources of profitability for the wine producers. The results of the quantitative analysis showed that there are different factors affecting the sales of red and white wine. For red wine the most important positive factors were taste category and certain grapes. For white wine the success factors were taste category and country of origin. Common for both red and white wine were that the number of stores increased the sales, while the price impacted the sales negatively. The results of the qualitative analysis revealed the importance of understanding target market and customer as well as having a distinct value proposition. Furthermore, the usage of theories, such as SWOT analysis and the 4Ps, demonstrated the significance of using different types of tools to increase sales and profitability. To conclude, a combination of the quantitative and the qualitative analyses this thesis presents, may offer the wine producers a greater insight to the Swedish market, and as well the proper tools to increase their sales.