Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Good Wine Good People announces crowdfunding initiative

Published: 02 July, 2025

Online wine retailer and wholesaler Good Wine Good People (GWGP) has announced a fresh crowdfunding round in a bid to expand the business.

New online retailer Kiwi Cru aims to champion New Zealand

Published: 22 April, 2025

Kiwi Cru an online retailer and events company dedicated to the promotion of wines from New Zealand has been launched in the UK. The new project is spearheaded by founder Pippa Wood, an entrepeneur who has held past roles at Berry Bros. & Rudd and Bolney Wine Estate.

All change for Virgin Wines at 25-year milestone

Published: 05 March, 2025

Virgin Wines’ chief financial officer and company secretary Graeme Weir is retiring next month, due to be succeeded by Amanda Cherry, current head of group finance for the digital retailer.

Virgin Wines and Ocado announce exclusive partnership

Published: 07 October, 2024

Virgin Wines has agreed a strategic partnership with Ocado.com, which will give the online-only supermarket’s customers access to an exclusive selection of 50 wines from Virgin’s portfolio.

Naked’s losses widen as group seeks return to growth

Published: 28 August, 2024

Troubled online retailer Naked Wines has announced a further fall in sales, with its full year results showing total sales down 18% year-on-year to £290m (52 weeks to 1 April 2024) against £345.0m in FY23.

Naked Wines UK appoints new MD

Published: 30 October, 2023

Online wine retailer, Naked Wines, has appointed Rodrigo Maza as MD of the UK business (pictured), as it continues to grapple with the ongoing challenge of new customer acquisition post-Covid.

Vivino switches up UK strategy

Published: 18 August, 2023

Vivino, the wine scoring and recommendations app, is switching up its ecommerce strategy in the UK, where it will no longer be pursuing direct sales and is instead leaning on its network of indie merchants.

Virgin recovers from end of year blip

Published: 17 July, 2023

Virgin Wines, one of the UK’s largest direct-to-consumer online wine retailers, has reported an end of year performance “in line with expectations”, following a “disappointing” downturn resulting from short term challenges at the end of 2022.

Q&A: Fabrice Mauge, CEO, VinoVirtual

Published: 19 January, 2023

What is VinoVirtual and how does it differ from ‘run-of-the-mill’ trade shows?

Virgin achieves carbon neutral

Published: 06 October, 2022

Online retailer Virgin Wines has reached a new milestone in its sustainability journey, by announced that they have officially been certified carbon neutral.

Profile: Virgin’s positive mission

Published: 20 September, 2022

With his relaxed style and ample enthusiasm, Jay Wright certainly doesn’t fit the old stereotype of a wine trade CEO. As the boss of one of the more successful online retailers, though, he is clear about the vision and values that underpin the popularity of Virgin Wines. And much of that comes down to what he believes the company – and, by extension, the wider drinks trade – actually sells.

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.

Naked Wines profits warning sparks shares nosedive

Published: 24 June, 2022

Online retailer Naked Wines has lost nearly 40% of its market value after it admitted that lockdown-boosted sales and heightened customer acquisition is likely to see a significant drop in 2023.

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%.

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.

Ecommerce to remain key driver as US online alcohol sales hit $6.1 billion

Published: 04 February, 2022

Ecommerce is becoming a major force in global retail, with online sales of BWS achieving a total value of $6.1 billion in the US market last year.

Packaging’s conflicting objectives

Published: 14 January, 2022

After 18 months of escalating online demand and consumers being immersed in “online shopping training”, the packaging industry is being tasked with satisfying supercharged convenience, sustainability and luxury trends, which , finds Jo Gilbert, is quite the challenge.

Online uplift to grow

Published: 23 December, 2021

Ecommerce is to remain a key driver of value growth in global alcoholic drinks markets, with wine to the fore. Andrew Catchpole reports.

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.