Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Rosé up 43% and Champagne 'strong' as summer sun brings cheer to Waitrose drinks sales

Published: 13 July, 2015

Recent warm weather in parts of the UK has seen sales of some wines and spirits soar at Waitrose.

Morrisons returns to growth, and Lidl takes its highest market share

Published: 02 June, 2015

Morrison returned to growth for the first time since December 2013, the latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel have shown, while Lidl rose its highest recorded market share.

Waitrose reports boom in gin sales, as craft and artisan styles increase

Published: 01 June, 2015

Waitrose has seen a surge of gin sales, up 7% on the same time last year, boosted by the growing interest in new styles.

Kantar: £532m lost from supermarket revenue pool in just three months

Published: 06 May, 2015

Kantar Worldpanel released it most recent UK retail figures today showing that "a massive £532m has been taken out of the supermarket revenue pool in just three months" according to Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insights at Kantar.

Waitrose sees sales of English wine soar

Published: 30 April, 2015

Sales of English wine at Waitrose nearly doubled in 2014, and the retailer has reported an increase of 177% in the last week.

Aldi overtakes Waitrose to become Britain's sixth largest supermarket

Published: 08 April, 2015

Aldi has overtaken Waitrose to become the sixth largest supermarket in Britainwith 5.3% of the market, according to Kantar Worldpanel's retail figures released today.

Waitrose profits hit by investment and deflation

Published: 12 March, 2015

Waitrose saw operating profits fall 23.4%, on the back of increased investment in operations and amid a deflationary market.

Shifting retail landscape likely to benefit independents, Wilson says

Published: 05 March, 2015

Shifts expected in the off-trade over the next 12 months are likely to create a "huge opportunity" for independent merchants, according to Tim Wilson of the Wilson Drinks Report.

Brazil wine sales quadruple on back of strong multiple support

Published: 26 February, 2015

Brazilian wine sales in the UK have more than quadrupled over the last year following strong support from multiple retailers.

Waitrose named UK's favourite supermarket by Which?

Published: 19 February, 2015

Waitrose has returned to the top spot of the Which? annual supermarkets survey - narrowly ahead of last year's winner, discounter Aldi.

Drinks producers and retailers 'get personal' for Valentine's Day

Published: 09 February, 2015

Wine and spirits retailers and producers are looking to cash in on love this Valentine's Day with a host of personalised and quirky products alongside the more straightforward deals.

Waitrose bucks grocery trend for store closures with 14 new openings for 2015

Published: 14 January, 2015

Waitrose is bucking the trend of store closures and job losses in the grocery sector by opening 14 new outlets in 2015, with more in the pipeline for 2016.

Tesco is worst retailer to work with say wine and spirits suppliers in Harpers poll

Published: 09 January, 2015

Tesco has been named and shamed as the worst retailer to work with in a survey of over 200 wine and spirits suppliers carried out by Harpers.co.uk.

Major wine retailers boast mixed fortunes over Christmas

Published: 07 January, 2015

Majestic Wine saw sales creep up 1.1% over a "difficult Christmas" while Waitrose celebrated a bumper 15.4% increase in BWS sales over the same period last year.

Prosecco sales rocket while still wine lags

Published: 22 December, 2014

Off-trade alcohol sales have risen 2.4% to £14 billion, with volumes up 0.8% - and Italian sparkler Prosecco has seen the most stunning increase of all, with values up 55% throughout 2014.

Prosecco dominates festive fizz sales at major retailers

Published: 11 December, 2014

Sales of Prosecco are fizzing across the major retailers in the run-up to Christmas, with Tesco predicting one in three bottles of sparkling wine sold this year will be the Italian favourite.

UK grocery market declines for first time in 20 years, says Kantar WorldPanel

Published: 20 November, 2014

The ongoing price wars in the British grocery market have led sales to decline by 0.2% - the first decrease since market research firm Kantar World Panel began keeping records.

Lidl best value supermarket for wine, says new app

Published: 10 November, 2014

Lidl is the UK's best supermarket for wine when it comes to value - according to an 18-month study tasting over 4,000 wines carried out by the Wotwine app.

The Week That Was: top news, Q&As and opinion on Harpers.co.uk

Published: 31 October, 2014

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, we have done a review of the top online news, financial news for the drinks trade, Q&As, and opinion stories.