THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 103, June 2021
Dog of the Month: Poppy DBM Wines, Bristol
London indie sets out plans for national franchise system Drop has been trading for four years in the capital, where it aims to deliver drinks to consumers within the hour
A
n independent wine business is aiming to create a national
franchise group that delivers
wine direct to consumers.
The business, called Drop, hopes to have
around 80 distribution points by 2025, including shops and bars.
Drop has been operating in London for
four years and now has an ambition to
be “the UK’s leading virtual on-demand
wine cellar”, using its own app to deliver to consumers.
Drop founders Ian Campbell and Will
rather than guaranteeing the one hour,”
intimidating wine merchants”.
£30,000 which does not include stock or
empowered to have their own say. We want
says Campbell.
Franchisees pay an upfront fee of
fittings but does plug them into the Drop technology.
Campbell says franchisees will have a
range of backgrounds and trading styles. Drop has positioned itself as a “great
answer to hastily purchased wines at either over-priced supermarkets or
“We don’t want to have identikit sites,”
he says. “We want the franchisee to feel
everything to be slightly different. Some
franchises will be straight retail, some will want to do a mixture of bar and retail, and some may want to really push the food. “The brand will communicate to the
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Palmer, owners of indie merchant and
restaurant The Ten Cases in Covent Garden, claim the Drop app has been downloaded “tens of thousands of times”.
Campbell says: “We see the future of
retail as something more tech-focused –
and a lot of independents won’t be able to afford to develop this kind of tech.
“We are trying to attract people who
see this as the next logical step, and the combination of bricks and mortar and
online is where we think we could do really well. The three different revenue streams
of shop, bar and e-commerce can make for a futureproof business.”
In central London, Drop aims to deliver
within the hour. “At the moment when
we’re thinking outside these more built up areas, we are looking more at same-day
The latest window display at the Shrewsbury branch of Tanners was designed and installed by previous Tanners employee and winemaker at Paso Primero, Emma Williams Holt. The butterflies are made from coat hangers covered in fabric and hand painted. Williams Holt says: “The together again #socialbutterflies tag line seemed a perfect name for the display in the current situation.”
