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Bouncing back Q&A: Steve Finlan, CEO, The Wine Society

Published:  06 December, 2021

Over 50 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and yet Covid-19 continues to shape our lives and that of the drinks trade. The emergence of the Omicron variant has got the international community deeply concerned, while certain European nations have reintroduced lockdown measures. Nevertheless, the UK trade remains robust and resilient, but with Christmas looming it is not clear that we're out of the woods yet.

In the first of our seasonal Bouncing Back series of Q&As The Wine Society’s Steve Finlan takes stock of 2021 and considers the path ahead for the trade.

The beginning of January marked the end of the Brexit transition period – how well has your organisation adapted to this new normal?

Pretty well. We always expected disruption for a short time and then a new normal would emerge and, mostly, that has been the case. We can’t forget that we are still in a grace period for some of the administrative burdens and, of course, the position on sending wine to Northern Ireland is unclear, so still a few hurdles to jump

The WTSA contacted the government in November, outlining suggestions to help solve the current transport crisis. What measures have you put in place to cope with the inevitable delays and disruption?

We strongly supported the WSTA position on this. Fortunately we saw the problems coming and were able to react to supply chain issues by securing and moving stock early. For deliveries to our members we have not seen any significant issues other than a few blips during the fuel crisis. As a result, our range is in great shape, even though the precise arrival time of most wine into the UK is still uncertain.

What is the most important business lesson you've learnt during the pandemic?

Many lessons, but if I had to choose one, it would be that real innovation often comes from a force majeure situation. My team have moved mountains over the last 18 months under extremely difficult circumstances, improving the operation, entertaining members and sourcing great wine. We have an exciting time ahead building on some fantastic ideas.

How can the trade 'build back better' during this unprecedented period? How can we change the way we do business for the better?

I would like to think that, despite our own success during the pandemic, we see ourselves as part of an exceptionally varied industry that works best when everyone is successful across all channels, whether on-trade, off-trade, independent or large retailer. We all have our part to play, we all do incredible things and the industry together is able to spread the joy of good wine and this benefits both the retailer and the consumer.

Has a succession of lockdowns fundamentally altered consumer behaviour in your experience?

I think that we could write a long list of things that have changed in terms of consumer behaviour. That said, the challenge is to predict those things that have changed for good and those that will rapidly or gradually return to where they were pre-pandemic. For us, the advent of virtual experiences, to supplement our physical events, is something that has significantly extended our reach and our ability to entertain and engage members. On the other hand we have seen a welcome return of members phoning The Society for orders or advice, reversing a trend during lockdowns.

Do you feel that this government is on the side of business? Are you happy with the budget announcements made in the autumn?

Whilst not wanting to government bash for the sake of it, the proposed changes to duty rates have left me speechless! The recommendations for wine satisfy none of the much-vaunted criteria for the change, are complex to implement and punish both the consumer and the winemaker ¬- 93% of Australian wines will attract more duty, yet wine was mentioned as a consumer winner in the free trade deal with Australia.

In light of the reintroduction of stricter covid measures, what are your expectations for Christmas 2021?

We are expecting a big Christmas this year and the season has started extremely well. For a distance seller of wine, tighter restrictions won’t alter this but, for the sake of the on-trade and others who have struggled over the past two years, I do hope that this Christmas will be more balanced in terms of what we can all do. We always put staff safety as our first priority during the pandemic and are ready for anything in terms of working from home or changing the way we work. It has been a real pleasure having our team working flexibly during the late summer and autumn, but safety must be the priority.

What are your priorities and predictions for 2022?

Our priorities are simple as we continue to implement a major change programme that started with our new website launch and continues with the building of our new warehouse at Stevenage. We are well progressed with our IT modernization but still a long way to go; and we recently launched our plans for sustainability and social impact – it promises to be a busy year.

2022 feels quite uncertain. Supply chain issues remain, harvests have been severely hit in some regions, there is the spectre of inflation and we are still in the grip of the pandemic. Businesses will need to plan well, remain agile to change whilst adapting to the needs of a more demanding consumer, with more choice and higher expectations – these challenges are the reason I have spent nearly 40 years in retailing.

Can the digital revolution help the trade engage with consumers in a way that would have been impossible 30 years ago?

Without question. This has been true for a while now, but technology is enabling us to understand consumers better, respond to how they would like to be engaged and deliver a personalized experience. Years ago we used to group together consumers in large segments based on their expectations and buying habits. Today we can have thousands of groupings. A small example for us is the popularity of video tasting notes, with the buyer able to get closer to our members and explain why they chose to list a particular wine, not just delivered online, but across social channels and able to reach a wide audience.

Quickfire questions:

Red, white or rose? Red

Film or book? Book

Champagne or English sparkling? English sparkling

European city break, or UK staycation? City break

Favourite part of the year? Spring




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