Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Harpers Design Awards 2023 open for entries

Published: 30 May, 2023

Submissions are now being invited for the 2023 edition of Harpers Design Awards, which is the leading competition of its kind in the UK market.

St Austell hails expansion to Wales

Published: 18 January, 2023

St Austell Brewery is expanding its reach into South Wales, taking the reach of its wholesale business beyond its West Country stronghold.

Common Counter pays homage to LGBTQ+ pioneers

Published: 07 February, 2022

Common Counter

Online BWS sales buck downward trend

Published: 08 September, 2021

New data has revealed that turnover from UK online retail slumped in the month of August, with three notable exceptions.

On-trade reopening reduces supermarket BWS growth to 1%

Published: 27 April, 2021

Supermarket sales of beers, wine and spirits (BWS) slowed significantly in the past four weeks as grocers felt the knock-on effect of the return of hospitality.

Pernod Ricard adds age-restriction labelling three years ahead of time

Published: 17 March, 2021

Pernod Ricard has announced that age-restriction labelling will be added to all its bottles three years ahead of schedule.

Medium and smaller brands take lead over private label

Published: 21 October, 2020

Private label sales are down across almost all European countries, with mid-sized brands and smaller companies performing best.

Sales dip after EOHO ends but trend for early week trading continues

Published: 21 September, 2020

Food and drink sales fell back last week following the end of the Eat Out to Help Out (EOHO) scheme and fresh concerns about rising Covid infections, according to new CGA research.

June delivers another bumper month for online BWS sales

Published: 09 July, 2020

Despite the reopening of bricks and mortar stores, online continued to surge through June, surpassing May’s figure by 3.5%, representing a 33.9% upswing year-on-year.

Amazon online drinks boom sustained by ‘grey pound’

Published: 22 June, 2020

Driven by the lockdown to online purchasing, some 3.3 million UK shoppers bought drinks via Amazon for the first time, with older shoppers predicted to uphold the trend.

Matthew Clark pitches on-trade with account-free ‘guest checkout’ on ecommerce platform

Published: 17 June, 2020

Matthew Clark has opened out its ecommerce platform to enable new on-trade customers to order up to £1,500 without opening an account or requiring a minimum order.

Online BWS sales double during May

Published: 05 June, 2020

Online sales of beers, wines and spirits boomed during May, as the UK’s second month under lockdown drove a record numbers of thirsty consumers to embrace ecommerce.

Living with lockdown – Enotria & Coe

Published: 24 April, 2020

Troy Christensen, CEO at Enotria & Coe, talks frankly with Andrew Catchpole about the impact of the current crisis on on-trade suppliers and the daunting challenges ahead for the hospitality sector.

Coronaviris: Harpers to assist business with exchange of ideas, advice and information

Published: 16 March, 2020

In response to the advancing coronavirus crisis, the Harpers team is asking off and on-trade business, large and small, to share strategies and initiatives designed to help drive commercial activity and sales through a period of unprecedented disruption and uncertainty.

On-trade set for Halloween sales hike

Published: 31 October, 2019

Restaurants, bars and pubs are poised to see sales significantly boosted by Halloween as the fright-night continues to gain traction as a ‘big night out’ for adults.

Hillebrand rebrand ahead of ‘journey of growth’

Published: 08 October, 2019

Global beverage and bulk liquid forwarder JF Hillebrand is unifying its various business arms, including past acquisitions such as Trans Ocean Bulk Logistics and Satellite Logistics Group, under the one Hillebrand banner.

Hybrid indies: Opportunities and pitfalls

Published: 21 August, 2019

The rise in independent merchants looking at the hybrid model and offering a drink-in option to complement traditional off-trade sales has seen the landscape change in recent years.

Top 50 Drinks Wholesalers

Published: 10 July, 2019

Once again Harpers brings you its annual list of the UK’s leading drinks wholesalers.

Matthew Clark comes out fighting fit after major restructure

Published: 06 March, 2019

National wholesaler Matthew Clark says it is firmly back on track, with a far-reaching restructure of the business completed and having “delivered one of the best Christmas in terms of service and performance”, according to managing director David Phillips (pictured above).

German, Brazilian, and English wine top Majestic’s list of tipples to watch in 2019

Published: 18 December, 2018

Wines from Germany, Brazil, and at home in the UK are being tipped as some of the breakthrough trends to open the door to success for the trade in 2019.