Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

The cost of lockdown 2.0 in numbers

Published: 04 November, 2020

There’s no escaping the imminent impact of lockdown 2.0 on on-trade Christmas sales, even if we go back to the tiered system in December.

Govt U-turn on pub lockdown sales

Published: 04 November, 2020

In a U-turn, the government has agreed to allow England’s pubs to sell takeaway alcohol during the national lockdown that begins on Thursday.

‘Shop out to help out’ scheme needed for small retailers

Published: 02 November, 2020

Extra help is needed to support small, independent retailers through a second lockdown, including a ‘Shop out to help out’ scheme and a cashflow windfall, it has been suggested.

UK retail lifts moribund global sales at Pernod Ricard

Published: 22 October, 2020

Drinks giant Pernod Ricard has seen its sales drop 6% in the first quarter of the financial year, though UK retail sales remain dynamic.

Bars and restaurants are footing the Covid bill

Published: 15 October, 2020

The government has made a meal out of eating out, with serious repercussions for the trade. Chris Losh reports

Bordeaux takes trade briefing online

Published: 06 October, 2020

Bordeaux Wines UK has become the latest marketing body to move its activities online.

Robust retail demand reverses fortunes at Diageo

Published: 29 September, 2020

Drinks giant Diageo has revealed that its outlook for the first half of the fiscal year 2021 has “improved since the year-end”, reversing a moribund earlier forecast for a year that has been rocked by Covid-19.

Mentzendorff makes strategic adjustments to a new norm

Published: 18 September, 2020

Andrew Catchpole talks to Mentzendorff boss Andrew Hawes pre and post-lockdown

Hard calls on Brexit

Published: 18 September, 2020

With end of transition fast approaching, concern is growing over lack of clarity on UK-EU trade. Ahead of the WSTA Industry Summit 2020, Andrew Catchpole spoke with Miles Beale about goverment's current plans to impose unnecessary red tape and barriers to business.

Think Spirits webinar: Constants & Changes in the New Drinks Landscape

Published: 17 September, 2020

Readers are invited to register for the latest in Harpers' ongoing series of business-focused webinars, to run on 22 September at 11.30am as part of our online Think Spirits day.

Berkmann launches web portal for independent merchants

Published: 15 September, 2020

Berkmann Wine Cellars has launched an online resource for independent merchants featuring a tailored range of 300 wines.

WSTA Summit: ‘Once in a lifetime’ opportunity for excise duty review

Published: 15 September, 2020

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has highlighted the potential of an upcoming government review into excise duty, which could have a major impact on the robustness of the industry to face challenging times.

Kate Nicholls, CEO, UK Hospitality

Published: 14 September, 2020

With hospitality one of the hardest hit sectors in the wake of the pandemic, the head of the leading trade organisation has no end of crucial issues to deal with. Kate Nicholls talks strategy to Lisa Riley

31 Days of German Riesling winners bring ingenuity to the fore

Published: 09 September, 2020

This year’s winners of the annual 31 Days of German Riesling competition has put a spotlight on just how much businesses have adapted during the pandemic, using often imaginative ways to bring German Riesling to a wider audience.

Sales at Pernod Ricard slump post-Covid

Published: 02 September, 2020

Organic sales at Pernod Ricard fell 9.5% as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, the company has reported, with revenues for the year to 30 June reaching €8.5bn.

Mark Roberts, Lanchester Wines: Back to Business Q&A

Published: 26 August, 2020

As the trade measures up to extraordinary times and looks ahead beyond summer, leading operators take stock of doing business in the new normal.

Jerry Lockspeiser: What happens next?

Published: 26 August, 2020

One of the many reasons people like working in the wine trade is the sense of common bond. Trade outsiders may doubt how friendly people who are direct competitors can really be. But they often are. People can’t help liking and respecting each other. The bonhomie that wine engenders helps, as does admiration for the labour, love, and sheer dedication of those who make the stuff. From producers to distributors, retailers, and communicators, an unstated feeling of shared mission is in the air. Now, too, the trenches spirit that comes with having backs against the wall.

Back to the bar: the reality of reopening

Published: 25 August, 2020

Lisa Riley catches up with a trio of bar professionals after the reopening of the on-trade to get a feel for the ‘new world’ to which they have returned.

Relief as gin spared from US tariff hikes, but battle for Scotch continues

Published: 13 August, 2020

The US has backed down on its threat to expand a 16-year old trade fight with the European Union to impose tariffs on gin – a move which would have been “hugely detrimental” for the British alcohol industry.

Berkmann winds up successful Help 4 Hospitality scheme

Published: 11 August, 2020

Berkmann Wine Cellars has called time on its Help 4 Hospitality lockdown initiative, which has raised some £75,000 to help businesses in the hospitality sector weather the crisis.