Interview with Caroline Demey, General Manager and Philippe Chalas, Sales Manager of Domaine Fabre en Provence

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It all begins in the aftermath of the First World War. The great-grandfather of Caroline Demey, had one wish: to work in commerce, his passion. Not owning any land, he decided to go into the wine trade.

The rest, we know: the dazzling success, the acquisition of vineyards, the development of exports, making Château de l'Aumérade the first rosé to be marketed in Dubai and Japan... But let's let Caroline, representative of the fifth generation, tell us this beautiful story.

In the heart of the Côtes de Provence, the Fabre-Grimaldi family group lists several wine estates, including the best-known Château de l'Aumérade. A "family business" that has been "running" for five generations and continues to grow. Caroline Grimaldi, (now wife DEMEY) has been with the company for 17 years and has been in charge of sales for 3 years.

"Along with my brother and sister, we are the custodians of a unique heritage and cultural legacy. That's why, every day, we strive to be ever more worthy of it. It has to be said that Caroline's forebears had developed unparalleled visionary qualities. "A few years after he started trading, my great-grandfather decided to buy land. He no longer wanted to be dependent on other producers".

After some fifteen years in which his grandfather developed his trading and production activities simultaneously, he made the long-awaited turn and became an exclusive producer of Côtes de Provence. "In the 1950s, my great-grandfather was able to sell his production, particularly that of Château de l'Aumérade, his largest property. The business took off immediately. First in France, then more rapidly on the export market".

A true alignment of the planets

Another factor favoring the expansion of family production obtaining the title of "cru classé"."Obtaining this title is based on a combination of criteria, including soil quality. My great-grandfather obtained it in 1955 for Château de l'Aumérade and Château de la Clapière. These two jewels play a full part in the booming marketing of our production.

Finally, Château de l'Aumérade wines acquire their true letters of nobility thanks to the creativity of Caroline's great-grandmother. "She was passionate about art. She wanted to design a bottle with very specific shapes, inspired by the roundness and generous curves of Gallé vases, which she owned." In collaboration with a glassmaker of the time, the design of the Château de l'Aumérade bottles was thus created, giving the estate a true personality, expected and respected the world over.

Fifth generation at the helm

In 2021, the life of the family group is in full swing."We own 550 hectares of vines, which is quite exceptional. However, even though we have sales of several million euros, we still operate as a family-run SME. This is an integral part of our identity.

This in no way means that our management and sales processes remain fixed. But we want to place the human element, exchange and respect for each individual's personality at the heart of our development". A vision fully embraced by Caroline's parents, who officially passed the baton to their children just over two years ago.

Today, the "win team" is complete."My brother, who handles production, joined me 12 years ago and my sister, a lawyer, has been at my side for two years."

The new roadmap

When Caroline took charge of Château de l'Aumérade's business development, her objective was clear: to rebalance sales. "We were too open to exports, which risked weakening our distribution in France. We therefore urgently needed to rebalance". But Caroline is multiplying responsibilities and days only have 24 hours!

"The business has changed enormously. In France, the traditional part is represented by catering and wholesalers. Personally, I'm in charge of mass distribution and certain key accounts. But I also have to take part in strategic orientations concerning production, in consultation with my brother and sister. In short, I absolutely needed a new skill set to support me, particularly in developing consumption outside supermarkets. Still working as a family, we therefore decided to recruit a Sales Director. Our production was close to two million bottles, although we could easily go up to three. So there's plenty of room for improvement."

Knowing Flavie Launaire to have already entrusted her with the recruitment of a field salesperson, Caroline picked up the phone and expressed her need. "Flavie already knew the field, my personality, our challenges... I had particularly appreciated our previous collaboration and felt confident, heard and understood."The recruitment procedure could then begin.

A recruitment process which, while beginning in the classic way, continues in a more "Launairian" fashion...

"My recruitment took place against the backdrop of an epidemic. The various stages therefore took place by telephone and videoconference. So, while the initial telephone contact focused on validating the experience on my CV, the subsequent appointments were very clearly different from those I'd experienced with other recruitment agencies," Philippe continues. And with good reason: Flavie, a former Foodservice distribution professional, knows the Sales Director's job inside out.

"So she focused more on validating the match between my personality and Caroline Demey's. What's more, not everyone fits easily into a family business, in which the sellers are still very much involved in the overall running of the business, and take an active part in all strategic decisions."

A context that doesn't scare Philippe at all, happy to be back in the field. "From February 22, the date I was hired, I drew up a schedule of my visits to our external sales force, i.e. our agents. They need to be valued and remotivated. More sales recruitment, both integrated and independent, will be needed if we are to be present absolutely everywhere in France, during the rosé season, i.e. from early spring to late summer."

An expertise and a strength of proposal that delight Caroline Demey, finally reassured for the future of the commercial development of her wines. "Philippe took up his post at the beginning of March, but I feel like he's been with us for at least a year!

He was able to fit in right away. He never hesitated to ask questions when he needed to, while almost immediately jumping into action. I'm sincerely delighted to have placed my trust in Alphea Conseil for Philippe's recruitment. Flavie was able to guide me in the selection of profiles without ever imposing anything on me.

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