Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Royal Wedding and hot weather boost online BWS sales

Published: 03 August, 2018

Online sales of beer, wines and spirits were up 27.3% YoY in March 2018, new data has revealed.

Europe leads private label premiumisation

Published: 25 April, 2018

The quality of private label wines are on the up – and Europe is leading the pack.

Looking ahead: Troy Christensen, CEO, Enotria and Coe

Published: 18 December, 2017

With the all-important Christmas trading period underway - and hopefully turning passion into profit for the UK’s wine and spirits operators - we at Harpers are looking ahead past New Year to see what’s in store for the trade in 2018.

“Bump in the road” predicted for imports of Oz wine

Published: 12 December, 2017

Retailers in the UK are being warned to take care when it comes to securing supply of Australian wine as increased competition from China and the US places pressure on exports.

Waitrose brings back ‘Drinks Festival’ for the second year running

Published: 26 September, 2017

Waitrose has announced it is bringing back its ‘Drinks Festival’, which the retailer ran for the first time last year.

Tesco fined £129m for overstating profits

Published: 28 March, 2017

Tesco has finally reached an agreement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and will pay £129m fine following 2014's damaging accounting scandal.

Wine buying hits shoppers' sweet spots at the multiples

Published: 28 March, 2017

High levels of shopper-satisfaction and the willingness of consumers to linger in the wine aisle, are presenting opportunities to engage the customer and drive trade-up sales, a new supermarket study has suggested.

Morrisons shorten payment terms for small suppliers

Published: 27 March, 2017

Morrisons today announced it would shorten payment terms for its smalle suppliers to a maximum of 14 days as part of its 'buy and sell simply' initiative.

Aldi wine sales lead the way as retailer growth continues

Published: 24 March, 2017

Aldi has shown the fastest year-on-year growth of all retailers according to latest Kantar Worldpanel figures

The battle for the retail shelves

Published: 23 March, 2017

The latest Nielsen retail reports make for interesting reading. Supermarket own-brand wines showed growth of 12.6% in the 12 weeks leading up to January 28, 2017, an escalation from 5.5% year-on-year growth, while brands lost 3% share.

Mitchells & Butlers adds 'skinny' sparkling wine to its menu

Published: 22 March, 2017

Mitchells & Butlers is hoping to entice calorie-conscious drinkers by adding a 'skinny' sparkling wine to its menu.

"Worrying" times for Sainsbury's as supermarket points to unstable climate for sales set-back

Published: 16 March, 2017

Sainsbury's has warned of "very competitive" trading conditions in the wake of the post-Brexit sterling slump as the supermarket suffered a slight sales decline in the fourth quarter of the financial year.

Lidl reports rapid growth for wine category

Published: 08 March, 2017

With a global turnover of over £70billion, and trading operations in 28 countries, the Lidl empire is continuing to grow in the UK, with 35 new stores opening in 2016, and a further 50 planned for this year.

Grocery market share for discounters hits record 12%

Published: 07 March, 2017

The march of the discounters continues as £1 in every £8 spent on groceries is now spent in either Aldi or Lidl.

Sales of fizz breaks Christmas barrier of 45 million bottles for first time

Published: 06 March, 2017

Sales of sparkling set yet another benchmark in the run up to Christmas, with sparkler-hungry Brits quaffing 10% more than usual in the off-trade and 37% in the on-trade.

Chilean wine hits the spot with convenience shoppers

Published: 27 February, 2017

The convenience channel has posted a near 20% leap in sales in an overall flat UK category.

Viña Santa Rita partners with National Gallery for art-inspired collaboration

Published: 24 February, 2017

Top Chilean label Viña Santa Rita has paired up with London's National Gallery for a three-year partnership linking wine and art.

Asda shows some recovery after troublesome 2016

Published: 23 February, 2017

Asda bosses said there is still a "lot of work to do" after the most recent sales figures showed some recovery for the ailing supermarket.

'Progrigio' - the new budget Prosecco?

Published: 20 February, 2017

Prosecco has long been regarded the low-price equivalent of Champagne for those looking for bubbles on a budget.

Supermarket sweep: A week in review

Published: 17 February, 2017

On the international stage, the big news this week has been dominated by an increasingly maddening number of acronyms and portmanteaus - CETA, Brexit, TTIP - as the top echelon of global businesses and governments on both sides of the Atlantic make decisions which will impact the immediate future of the trade.