Conghaileach
2nd April 2003, 16:07
US may live to regret boycott of French products
Edward Helmore in New York
Of all the disinformation being peddled by the US media, none has been
so transparently inaccurate as the boycott of French products
by consumers.Although stories of restaurant owners pouring bottles of
French wine in gutters have made the news, and Rupert Murdoch's New
York Post has urged readers to boycott anything made by the "cheese-
eating surrender monkeys", otherwise known as Les Weasels, there is
little evidence that the Post has had any direct effect on sales.
The campaign to boycott French products has been all noise and not
much action: wealthy Americans who consume French wines, cheeses and
fashion are unlikely to be swayed by the political posturing, market
analysts suggest. Still, at least one French exporter, the spirit group
Pernod Ricard, has said it will delay posting its earnings forecasts as
it tries to gauge the impact. The maker of Martell cognac and Ricard
pastis said last week that there had been no sign of a drop in US
sales.
In French bars and restaurants in New York last week there was no
sign of a downturn in business. Indeed, as restaurants such as Les
Halles and Le Singe Vert are some of the few left where smoking is
still permitted, they appeared busier than ever. Restaurant managers
said that, if anything, custom was up as a result of France's campaign
against unsanctioned war. In a reverse of the boycott's intention, they
suggested that customers were more eager to buy French products as a
token of support.
At Dean & DeLuca delicatessen in SoHo, New York,the produce
manager, Michael Scibilia, said he had not noted any anti-French
sentiment. "Our customer base tends to be more savvy and well rounded
intellectually. We're not the 7-Eleven, and we're not the Safeway." Of
course, New York is not the US and foie gras is hardly a staple of
the national diet. But there is still concern that orchestrated
publicity stunts, such as a Las Vegas DJ driving an armoured vehicle
over various French imports, a North Carolina restaurant owner
replacing French fries on his menu with "freedom fries", and about 18
members of the US House of Representatives calling for a boycott of
this year's Paris Air Show, may have an effect.
"There are pockets where individuals are deciding to do things, but
it certainly isn't organised," Bob Messenger, editor of The Morning
Cup, an online newsletter that tracks trends in the food and beverage
industry, told USA Today. Where French imports are down, it has little
to do with the war. A few years ago the import of unpasteurised cheeses
was banned by the Food and Drug Administration for health reasons.
Sales of French wine have been on the decline for five years, but the
Wine Institute, which promotes US wineries, says the decline stems from
increased competition from other countries.
France is still the US's third-largest supplier, after Italy and
Australia, and last year French producers sold 110m litres, valued
at $913.5m. The biggest worry for French exporters is the US economy
and exchange rates: the declining dollar frightens exporters more than
a boycott. "The dollar has lost against the euro, and the market is
expecting cheaper prices for the 2002 vintage," says Bordeaux exporter
Patrick Bernard. But boycotts, however out of fashion, work both ways.
With the record US balance of trade deficit, some argue that the US
could hurt more from a global boycott of US products than vice versa.
In Europe there is no easy way to know whether the effects of anti-
American sentiment on American businesses will be substantial. They may
be masked somewhat by the general economic slowdown. Elsewhere in the
world there have been few tangible results of efforts to get consumers
to vote with their wallets. In Thailand US tourists have reportedly
been turned away from some beach resorts; in many Muslim countries
consumers have been urged to avoid buying American. InJ apan protesters
have circulated lists of hitherto popular US brands to be shunned,
including Ford, Nike, Starbucks and McDonald's.
The effects of global anti-US sentiment may be more subtle. Large
American companies are seeking to downplay and not publicise their ties
to the motherland. McDonald's, the touchstone of American consumerism,
has conceded that it has suffered. In the Middle East the company has
sought to publicise that its restaurants are locally owned and locally
supplied.
The Observer
The Guardian Weekly
Edward Helmore in New York
Of all the disinformation being peddled by the US media, none has been
so transparently inaccurate as the boycott of French products
by consumers.Although stories of restaurant owners pouring bottles of
French wine in gutters have made the news, and Rupert Murdoch's New
York Post has urged readers to boycott anything made by the "cheese-
eating surrender monkeys", otherwise known as Les Weasels, there is
little evidence that the Post has had any direct effect on sales.
The campaign to boycott French products has been all noise and not
much action: wealthy Americans who consume French wines, cheeses and
fashion are unlikely to be swayed by the political posturing, market
analysts suggest. Still, at least one French exporter, the spirit group
Pernod Ricard, has said it will delay posting its earnings forecasts as
it tries to gauge the impact. The maker of Martell cognac and Ricard
pastis said last week that there had been no sign of a drop in US
sales.
In French bars and restaurants in New York last week there was no
sign of a downturn in business. Indeed, as restaurants such as Les
Halles and Le Singe Vert are some of the few left where smoking is
still permitted, they appeared busier than ever. Restaurant managers
said that, if anything, custom was up as a result of France's campaign
against unsanctioned war. In a reverse of the boycott's intention, they
suggested that customers were more eager to buy French products as a
token of support.
At Dean & DeLuca delicatessen in SoHo, New York,the produce
manager, Michael Scibilia, said he had not noted any anti-French
sentiment. "Our customer base tends to be more savvy and well rounded
intellectually. We're not the 7-Eleven, and we're not the Safeway." Of
course, New York is not the US and foie gras is hardly a staple of
the national diet. But there is still concern that orchestrated
publicity stunts, such as a Las Vegas DJ driving an armoured vehicle
over various French imports, a North Carolina restaurant owner
replacing French fries on his menu with "freedom fries", and about 18
members of the US House of Representatives calling for a boycott of
this year's Paris Air Show, may have an effect.
"There are pockets where individuals are deciding to do things, but
it certainly isn't organised," Bob Messenger, editor of The Morning
Cup, an online newsletter that tracks trends in the food and beverage
industry, told USA Today. Where French imports are down, it has little
to do with the war. A few years ago the import of unpasteurised cheeses
was banned by the Food and Drug Administration for health reasons.
Sales of French wine have been on the decline for five years, but the
Wine Institute, which promotes US wineries, says the decline stems from
increased competition from other countries.
France is still the US's third-largest supplier, after Italy and
Australia, and last year French producers sold 110m litres, valued
at $913.5m. The biggest worry for French exporters is the US economy
and exchange rates: the declining dollar frightens exporters more than
a boycott. "The dollar has lost against the euro, and the market is
expecting cheaper prices for the 2002 vintage," says Bordeaux exporter
Patrick Bernard. But boycotts, however out of fashion, work both ways.
With the record US balance of trade deficit, some argue that the US
could hurt more from a global boycott of US products than vice versa.
In Europe there is no easy way to know whether the effects of anti-
American sentiment on American businesses will be substantial. They may
be masked somewhat by the general economic slowdown. Elsewhere in the
world there have been few tangible results of efforts to get consumers
to vote with their wallets. In Thailand US tourists have reportedly
been turned away from some beach resorts; in many Muslim countries
consumers have been urged to avoid buying American. InJ apan protesters
have circulated lists of hitherto popular US brands to be shunned,
including Ford, Nike, Starbucks and McDonald's.
The effects of global anti-US sentiment may be more subtle. Large
American companies are seeking to downplay and not publicise their ties
to the motherland. McDonald's, the touchstone of American consumerism,
has conceded that it has suffered. In the Middle East the company has
sought to publicise that its restaurants are locally owned and locally
supplied.
The Observer
The Guardian Weekly