Grape expectations

CATEGORY UPDATE

Bottle better sales

Uncork new sales with wine

Taking a fresh look at your wine range could help drive new footfall, sales and profi ts in a hugely important category. Londis News is here to help.

Wine is an important category in Londis stores but it can also be a complex category to manage with so many products available and so many types of wine on the market. That’s why it can be helpful to draw on the experience of experts in the wine trade, people like Booker’s wine-buying team who have between them more than 60 years of experience. Headed up by Category Lead Mark Oldfield, the team lives and breathes wine and is perfectly placed to offer Londis retailers simple, effective advice to making sure that the range on their shelves is meeting the demands of today’s shoppers.

Like many products in independent retailing, wine is a constantly evolving category with clear, discernible trends. By following these

trends, retailers have the best possible chance of maximising footfall, sales and profits.

“There are very clear trends in wine that change and grow over time,” says Mark. “And it’s our job to make sure that Booker retailers have exactly the right range available to them so that they can offer shoppers precisely they are looking for.”

It’s certainly not a one-size-fits-all approach, as Mark explains: “We tailor the range and the offering to specifically meet the needs of Londis retailers and their shoppers.”

BIG PICTURE While the Londis wine promotions are clearly extremely powerful in growing sales, the biggest volumes are actually driven at slightly higher price points. Mark comments: “The entry level price bracket of around £5 or £6 is typically where Londis retailers will see most of the promotions – and those promotions are clearly very effective. But what retailers might want to note is that it’s at the £6 to £8 price point where the majority of sales happen.”

In other words, a great place to start when analysing your current wine range is at this £6 to £8 level. “It’s so important for retailers to have the right offering of key brands in and around this price bracket,” says Mark. “The promotional lines will sell well, we know that, but to a certain extent they take care of themselves. Retailers will continue to see strong ‘2 for £10 and ‘2 for £12’ promotions on key brands throughout the year which really do help to drive footfall and profits.

“But it’s at the next level up that retailers can really make a difference to their wine sales by stocking the right brands and the right products. Brands like Jam Shed and 19 Crimes have experienced phenomenal growth and they’re massively on-trend at the moment.”

LESS IS MORE Another important message from Mark and his team is that less can often be more. Decluttering the range and making it easier for shoppers to make a choice can have a huge impact on sales. “Having too many single facings can be a real problem,” he says. “To shoppers, a display with too many single facings just looks like a wall of bottles.”

PREMIUM MATTERS When it comes to the importance of meeting all key price points to meet different shoppers needs, Mark highlights how price is obviously front of mind for shoppers at the moment so it’s more important than ever before for retailers to have a good offer across each of the key price brackets.

However, says Mark, it’s critical that Londis retailers don’t lose sight of the huge opportunity that still exists in premium wines. He says: “Despite the pressures shoppers are facing, premium-priced products remain key. We think that premium wines will continue to motor over the coming months. That’s why we have also been very working really hard to introduce more premium-priced products to close that important £8 to £10 gap.”

Premium wines will be particularly important as Christmas approaches and shoppers look to trade up to something a little more special to celebrate the festive season.

Make more of Australian wines

Australia is the biggest country in terms of sales volume so it’s really important that Londis retailers have a good core Australian offering across each of the price brackets.

Australian wines tend to offer that sweeter taste profile which a growing number of shoppers are looking for these days.

They also tend to be more robust in terms of price and availability, which is key.

Australian wines don’t really struggle with some of supply challenges that other countries such as France and New Zealand can, which helps to keep prices low and availability high.