Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Waitrose expands English portfolio in a nod to English Wine Week

Published: 18 June, 2020

Waitrose is celebrating English Wine Week (20- 28 June) by launching five new and exclusive homegrown wines.

Volume uplift in US off-trade offsets on-trade sales drop

Published: 16 June, 2020

US wine volume sales look set to be flat in 2020 with the Covid-19 led surge in off-trade sales balancing out the drop in on-trade sales, according to new Wine Intelligence research.

Raab says ‘review’ to be completed within “coming weeks”

Published: 15 June, 2020

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said the government expects the next Covid-19 review, including if the 2 metre social distancing rule will be reduced, to be completed “within the coming weeks”.

Sunak confirms “urgent comprehensive review” of 2 metre rule

Published: 15 June, 2020

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed PM Boris Johnson has ordered a “comprehensive review” on the 2 metre social distancing rule.

Alcohol sales knocked by lockdown

Published: 08 June, 2020

Despite the marked shift from on-trade to home drinking, lockdown could still leave a sobering £7bn hole in total UK alcohol sales, as Andrew Catchpole reports.

Fears of Brits binge drinking through lockdown unfounded, says Portman Group

Published: 05 June, 2020

The majority of Brits are drinking the same or less compared to before lockdown, with a large majority remaining within the UK chief medical officers’ (CMO) low risk guidelines (14 units per week), according to new research released today by the Portman Group.

Alcohol sales knocked back until 2022

Published: 04 June, 2020

Despite the shift from on-trade to home drinking, lockdown could still leave a sobering £7bn hole in UK alcohol sales this year.

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.