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Two Good, 2 Bad for 2013 - Hopes and Fears for 2014: Ted Sandbach, Oxford Wine Company

Published:  25 December, 2013

 

Happy Christmas to one and all and who better to spend it with Ted Sandbach, the larger than life owner of the Oxford Wine Company. Here he gives his two good and two bad memories fromd 2013 and looks ahead with his hopes and fears for 2014.

Happy Christmas to one and all and who better to spend it with Ted Sandbach, the larger than life owner of the Oxford Wine Company. Here he gives his two good and two bad memories fromd 2013 and looks ahead with his hopes and fears for 2014.

Ted Sandbach, Oxford Wine Company

 2 Good

1  Taking the plunge and opening our Oxford Wine Cafe.  This was not our core business but (after a few glasses of wine) I understood the synergy and it has been a great decision. The bar is really thriving under good management and we are attracting top staff. Jazz on Sundays has added to the ambiance and the feedback has been most encouraging.

2 It was wonderful when BBC Watchdog had the courage to expose the supermarkets and other large retailers with their phoney promotions! 

2 Bad

1 Deciding to sell our Tetbury shop and concentrate on the more exciting Cirencester operation. As business boomed in Oxford it became impractical to keep a retail shop so far from our core custom.

2 Deciding which Pinot Noir to bring to our regular new Pinotphile tasting.  The exciting discovery of Pinot lovers who frequent the wine cafe has opened up all sorts of opportunities and my wife is still convinced its work!

Hopes

1 That the duty escalator is scrapped and this year wine duty will be frozen. Oh look! Is that a pig flying past!

2 That suppliers decide what section of the trade they wish to appease. I am fed up with finding our "regionally exclusive" wines in a local supermarket or restaurant. Please stop trying to sell to wholesalers and then supplying any old restaurant because they make an inquiry. 

 Fears

1 Having to deal with other wholesalers "buying" business with crazy, unsustainable offers and cash incentives. 

2 Dealing with the scum that call themselves bankers. Ripped off at every level  - my new manager is barely out of short trousers but has done a course therefore he understands my business!

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