Harpers Survey Suggests a Bright Future for Independents
Posted on Wed 21st Jan 2015 at 13:44
To complement their March of the Independents initiative, Harpers conducted a survey of nearly 200 independent wine merchants, in which they asked everything from how business was going to what countries their wines usually come from.
The results make for encouraging reading. Three-quarters of respondents said business had improved in the past year, with sales increasing by as much as 30%. The most common annual turnover for respondents was between £500k and £1m, although 29% of respondents had a turnover of over £1m. This may be in some part due to the fact that the sector has healthy average wine prices. 72% of respondents said that their average price point per bottle is between £8-15, whilst the largest number of respondents (35.4%) specified that their average was in the £10-12 bracket. There are, however, always issues, and the three most common were dealing with price competition from supermarkets (54%) managing cash flow (51%) and prohibitive duty costs (49%). Alongside sales to individuals, the survey reveals that three quarters of merchants run a wholesale service, accounting for almost half of business amongst nearly half of retailers.
As well as this, two thirds of retailers sold wines online as well as through their shop, and, although nearly 73% only had single premises, nearly a third were considering expanding to more sites next year. When asked where their wines were most likely to come from, the most popular countries specified were: France, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and Chile. The popularity of France may well be linked to the fact that Champagne sales were performing well, and in some cases exceedingly well, for over 60% of retailers. Yet the survey also found that independents were keen to champion wines from less usual countries, because, as Harpers explain: “let’s not forget that these retailers are perhaps better placed that anyone else across the UK off-trade to sell a niche product as they speak directly to their customers and often relish the opportunity to ‘hard-sell’ wines. “ Wherever the wine comes from, the vast majority of retailers’ source wine from a mix of producers and suppliers, with only 6.4% sourcing all their wine from the source.
Amongst those who used suppliers, almost a third called on a list of more than 20 to complete their wine range. As Harpers note, there are still some ongoing problems in communication between suppliers and retailers, which has in the past made life difficult for independent retailers. As a specialist wine distributor in the UK we want to reassure you, therefore, that our staff take our working relationships very seriously, and often go out of their way to ensure that clients’ needs are met. As a wine wholesaler we are here to help your business, so please feel free to contact us at any time! To read more about the survey, see the latest edition of Harpers magazine.