Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Living with lockdown - Jeroboams

Published: 06 May, 2020

Hugh Sturges, MD at Jeroboams, gives Lisa Riley a glimpse of the realities of coping with lockdown

Online BWS sales soar 78%

Published: 29 April, 2020

Online sales of beers, wines and spirits (BWS) surged 78% in the last four weeks making it the fastest growing grocery category in terms of sales.

Living with lockdown – Bibendum

Published: 28 April, 2020

Michael Saunders, Bibendum CEO and chairman of The Drinks Trust and WSTA, dives deep into the challenges thrown up by the current crisis. Andrew Catchpole reports

Jascot’s pivots towards e-commerce amid Covid-19 angst

Published: 27 April, 2020

On-trade wine supplier Jascots has launched a full ecommerce site selling direct to consumers across the UK.

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.

Retail alcohol sales surge 31%

Published: 24 April, 2020

Alcohol sales in UK retailers surged 31.4% in volume terms in March, well ahead of overall supermarket sales which rose 10.3% during the month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Ecommerce sales surge but fail to make up for on-trade losses

Published: 22 April, 2020

Ecommerce sales of beer, wine and spirits (BWS) in the UK surged 50% (volume) in the first week of lockdown compared to the same period last year, while sales through the off-trade were up 20%, according to new IWSR snapshot research.

Off-trade alcohol sales surge 29% over the Easter weekend

Published: 20 April, 2020

Off-trade sales of alcohol surged 29% over the bank holiday weekend although overall Brits spent £160m less on Easter than in 2019.

David Gleave MW: Drinking up recovery

Published: 07 April, 2020

David Gleave MW, MD of Liberty Wines, on how upselling diversity in wines will be the way to thrive

Stockpiling and on-trade closure send off-trade BWS sales through the roof

Published: 31 March, 2020

Off-trade sales of beer, wine and spirits (BWS) surged 67% in the week to 21 March - the week the government announced the closure of the on-trade.

Government clarifies ‘lockdown’ on and off-trade measures

Published: 24 March, 2020

The government has clarified the measures required to be taken by both the on and off-trade following the announcement last night of a three-week nationwide UK ‘lockdown’.

Selling Italy in the off-trade

Published: 09 December, 2019

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.

Off-Piste unveils new partnership with Piccini

Published: 20 September, 2019

Cheltenham-based importer Off-Piste Wines has become the exclusive representative for Italian producer Piccini in the UK multiple off-trade.

SITT Autumn countdown is on

Published: 03 September, 2019

Independent buyers across the on- and off-trade have less than a week to wait for the Specialist Importers Trade Tastings (SITT) Autumn show.

Debunking the myth

Published: 24 June, 2019

Vodka has long had an image problem, says Nate Brown, but a new exploration of its natural flavours is helping consumers better understand the spirit

Global Brands adds to canned cocktail range in Tesco

Published: 18 June, 2019

Global Brands has added two new flavours and a new format to its All Shook Up range of pre-mixed cocktails.

Diageo identifies £5.2bn growth opportunity for UK drinks industry

Published: 23 April, 2019

Diageo has identified a 12% growth opportunity, translating to £5.2 billion, for the UK alcohol industry over the next three years.

South America pips Italy into second place for UK drinkers

Published: 21 February, 2019

There has been a shift at the top of the UK’s hotly contested wine rankings, with the combined sales of South American heavyweights Chile and Argentina overtaking Italy, the UK’s second most quaffed region, in terms of value.

Spring into SITT

Published: 21 February, 2019

With our Specialist Importers Trade Tastings (SITT) almost upon us, there’s a cornucopia of independent buyer-focused wines waiting to be discovered at what we believe will be our most exciting and productive events yet.