Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

50 Best Indies 2023 ranking: 20-12 revealed

Published: 09 January, 2023

This week marks the launch of our 50 Best Indies 2023, where we are celebrating the best businesses working in the UK’s thriving drinks merchant scene.

50 Best Indies 2023: Tune in for the results

Published: 06 January, 2023

Once again the results of our popular 50 Best Indies list are ready to be announced, with tranches of 10 being revealed each day next week (9-13 January) at 11am.

Theatre of Wine celebrates hitting 20

Published: 28 September, 2022

London’s Theatre of Wine has turned 20, marking two decades since founder Daniel Illsley founded the merchant in Greenwich following the new wave of wine interest created by Oddbins and Majestic.

Pacific Wines embraces bricks and mortar

Published: 03 August, 2022

Online retailer Pacific Wines has announced plans to open an inaugural shop at the end of August, making the leap from ecommerce to physical retail.

Vagabond Bar & Kitchen lands at Heathrow

Published: 16 June, 2022

Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5, Hounslow TW6 2GA

Multiples: New world, same aisle

Published: 20 April, 2022

Supermarket wine ranges are continuing to evolve in 2022, as James Bayley discovers.

Multiples: New world, same aisle

Published: 20 April, 2022

Supermarket wine ranges are continuing to evolve in 2022, as James Bayley discovers.

Online drinks sales growth cools, but remains far above pre-pandemic levels

Published: 10 March, 2022

Online sales of alcoholic drinks fell -18.5% YoY in the UK in February 2022, though nudged up 9.4% against those in the typically slow first month of January.

January online retail growth lowest ever as BWS sales fall

Published: 15 February, 2022

January saw the lowest rate of online retail growth ever at a slump of -24.4%, according to the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance for over 200 retailers. At category level, beer, wine and spirits fell even further, reaching an average of -26.6%.

Pernod Ricard celebrates record breaking sales in first half of fiscal year

Published: 10 February, 2022

Multinational Pernod Ricard has posted record turnover from sales during the first half of the fiscal year (beginning July 2021), earning global revenues of €5,959m, with an organic growth of +17%.

Multiples: Retail trends

Published: 08 February, 2022

A five-year snapshot of the retail world reveals just how sales of wines and spirits have been shaken up by the pandemic, as Andrew Catchpole reports.

Trivento double-digit growth in 'shrinking wine market'

Published: 01 February, 2022

Leading Argentinean wine brand Trivento is celebrating UK retail sales growth of 11.6% by value in the past year, according to data released by Nielsen.

BWS retail sales decline in December 2021

Published: 05 January, 2022

Overall retail sales of beers, wines and spirits fell in the month of December, when benchmarked against Christmas 2020, though spending remained higher than it was pre-pandemic.

BWS online sales flatline in the run up to Christmas

Published: 13 December, 2021

The BWS category suffered one of its poorest performances on record in November, plummeting -21.4% versus the same month in 2020, as consumers rushed out of their houses to socialise and shop ahead of the fear of potential new December 2021 lockdowns.

Shifting sales

Published: 29 November, 2021

With ‘shop local’ boosting convenience stores and premium on the rise, Angela Mount rounds up the changes wrought on and by the multiple retail sector.

Rueda campaign to underpin export growth

Published: 03 November, 2021

Spain’s leading white wine export has continued its upward trajectory, with DO Rueda reporting a 15% upswing in 2020.

Online retail BWS sales continue to buck downward trend

Published: 18 October, 2021

Online retail sales of beers, wine and spirits (BWS) remain strong, increasing by 18.6% in September 2021, bucking the downward trend of overall retail sales, according to latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of over 200 retailers.

Coravin opens first pop-up wine bar and retail outlet

Published: 14 October, 2021

Coravin, the wine preservation system, is to open its very first pop-up wine bar and retail outlet in London.

Cave Cuvée goes live in Bethnal Green

Published: 30 September, 2021

Shop Cuvée and Cave Cuvée

UK’s 50 Best Indies 2021: The Top 10

Published: 09 September, 2021

Welcome to the final release instalment of our UK’s 50 Best Indies 2021, featuring the chart-topping Top 10, along with all of those that have made it into the ranking this year.