Looking Back, Forging Ahead Q&A: Archie McDiarmid, Luvians Bottleshop
Next up in our end of year trade talking heads is Archie McDiarmid, manager at Luvians Bottleshop in St Andrews, as he reflects on a tough ride for the trade.
What have you put in place to maximise Christmas trading and what are the early indications so far?
As always, we have prepared a really solid suite of offers focusing on whisky, sparkling wine and Port, which we launched in November to grab people’s attention. Even if they aren’t buying in the moment, they file these things away in their heads and make a point of returning to them when gift purchasing/Christmas shopping comes around.
When it comes to table wines, we find offers are less likely to drive sales than tastings and the chance to experiment or splash out. We host our annual wine fair in early November, specifically gearing it towards encouraging people to stock up for Christmas, but also with a good proportion of new wines that are available to order on the day, many of which also make their way onto the shelves. This means even for our most regular customers, there are lots of new things arriving throughout November and December and we have a different distillery/brewery/winery in the shop doing tastings on 16 of the 26 shopping days between 29 November and Christmas Eve. It adds an extra reason to visit for customers, provides theatre for people who just walked in and takes some of the pressure off shopfloor staff at the busiest time of the year. Early indications are good: we had an excellent November and solid figures for 2024 in general, so we are hoping that continues into December to finish off the year.
What, for you, were the specific highs of 2024?
Vines 2024 (our wine fair) was a great success this year – our second fair following a three-year hiatus due to Covid. Seeing 300 people pack into St Andrews Town Hall to explore 17 tables showing off over 200 wines is always incredibly satisfying. The Old Course also played host to the AIG Women’s Open golf which was a great boost to sales both in the shop and to our restaurant and bar customers. Getting to serve some of the best golfers in the world and getting to simply walk down the street to see Lydia Ko lift the trophy was pretty special.
And the lows?
A major leak in an adjoining building flooding one of our storerooms and having to get it emptied as we watched water come in through the ceiling wasn’t much fun. We had to face being down almost a quarter in terms of storage space for several weeks while it was repaired… a hell of a logistical challenge.
How have the specific challenges of this year contributed to wider drinks trends?
We are definitely seeing a stratification of drinking with affordable wines and premium wines doing very well, but the middle, where we usually make the bulk of our sales, is getting really squeezed. It has never been more important to be really on top of your list and have great stories to tell for every bottle on the shelf. Single malt whisky has continued a downward sales trend we first saw in 2022. Pricing has simply gotten too high for lots of domestic customers and we are seeing them either trading down from old favourites that have climbed out of their price bracket or opting out of the category altogether, much to the benefit of other categories like rum and US whiskey.
With the duty easement likely to end in February, how are you looking to mitigate the impact of rising duty on business?
We are still hopeful that the government will see sense and abandon the frankly ludicrous proposed system they inherited from the previous administration, but we are preparing for the worst. We are discussing regularly with customers to try and lessen the sticker shock should it come in (most have no idea that it is happening) and have a series of meeting arranged with suppliers to look at what they contribute to our range and see where we can streamline ordering, deliveries and maximise sales to offset the impact as much as possible.
As a business, what positives are you looking forward to in 2025?
We have investing heavily in the three major spaces we use for event hosting, giving us greater capacity, flexibility and improving the customer experience. We are delighted by the response to our remodelled Fine and Rare room where we host small masterclasses, and we are very excited to see the response to our completely redesigned café space where we host most of our mid-sized events.
Quick fire questions:
Ultimate turkey pairing wine?
For the turkey itself, I find it very hard to see past a great white Burgundy, but I find the sides can rather crowd it out. My Christmas table usually features goose or ham (sometimes both) which makes a seriously classy Aussie Grenache a great shout.
Ultimate wine turkey?
I’ve kissed a lot of frogs, but the biggest disappointment was probably a very highly regarded Etna Rosso that had no discernible fruit, just aggressive volcanic minerality and tannins. The first wine I thought actually wanted to hurt me.
Most overrated spirit?
Any whisky or Cognac where you suspect that more effort went into the box than the liquid.
Most underrated spirit?
Well-aged calvados, the nectar of the gods and perfect alongside your Christmas cheeseboard.
Chardonnay or Riesling?
Great Chardonnay is a thing of beauty, but if I could only drink wine from one grape for the rest of my life it would be Riesling.
Port or sherry?
Sherry, particularly Palo Cortado with a shout out to good Madeira too!
If you were a type of drink, what would you be and why?
Champagne – easily excited, always up for a celebration and a lot more flexible than you might expect.
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56-58 Church Walk, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AN
Registered in England No. 6646125. VAT No. 938 4452 95
