With lockdown easing and non-essential shops beginning to reopen from 15 June, the independent merchant sector is increasingly planning ways of achieving some semblance of ‘normal’ store opening, while balancing health considerations with marked changes in trading conditions.
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With the on-trade on lockdown, indies have reaped rewards from the pandemic, but will they be able to hang on to their new customers once restrictions are lifted? Lisa Riley investigates.
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Berry Bros & Rudd (BBR) has revealed an initiative to support some of the small family businesses hit by the Covid-19 crisis.
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Lay & Wheeler has bolstered its senior team with the immediate addition of Simon Staples and Catherine Petrie MW.
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Lanchester Wines has launched a specialist service to help support indies during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
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Jancis Robinson MW has reached out to hospitality workers by giving industry professional free access to all of JancisRobinson.com.
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Berry Bros & Rudd has selected Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND Association) as it’s charity partner for the next three years.
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With merchants fast adapting to survive, Andrew Catchpole surveyed the indie scene to discover how companies are adapting.
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We are once again launching our annual 50 Best Indies Awards, to recognise the best in the business of indie drinks retailing.
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Majestic has announced its shops are to remain temporarily closed despite the government having added off-licenses to its list of ‘essential’ businesses.
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Cambridge-based Chris Wilson gets on his bike for a taste of what it’s like for those at the sharp end of wine retail.
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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.
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Thinking of offering a hybrid experience? Andrew Catchpole asks two quite different operators how they balance being both a wine merchant and a bar
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There are pros and cons to buying direct, but there are certainly reasons indies should consider the option, as Andrew Catchpole reports.
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2010-2020 delivered incredible change on both a domestic and an international level. The Harpers team peers back at some of the key stories that continue to shape today’s trade
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Italy in the off-trade seems to be a game of two halves at the moment with supermarkets sticking to classics and bankers while independent merchants push the envelope with more esoteric wines and attempt to shape consumer habits.
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East London-based independent merchant Vinoramica has been trading since 2017. Harpers caught up with Matt Thomas from the family-run business to discover what makes his customers tick and how free themed tasting evenings have put this indie start-up on the map.
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Justin Keay digs deep into Italy in the off-trade, taking his microscope to the supermarkets’ Italian ranges and discovering what indie customers are demanding from their local merchants.
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Teaming up to bring in ad hoc shipments is ushering in a new wave of collaboration between like-minded independents. Chris Wilson weighs the practicalities and benefits
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Kent-based foodhall Macknade has taken on a wine retail outlet offering 400+ wines,
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