Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Morrisons revamps French wine range and Malbec

Published: 13 May, 2015

Morrisons has revamped its range of French wines and boosted its offering of Malbec, focussing on areas that where it says it has historically under-traded.

Asda cuts wine range by 8% but adds new range of lesser known varietals among 200 new lines

Published: 13 May, 2015

Asda has overhauled its entire wine range, cutting its total range by around 8% in order to rationalise the offer and accommodate more than 200 new products.

Breaking News: Elizabeth Newman to replace Andy Phelps as head of BWS at Sainsbury's

Published: 13 May, 2015

Sainsbury's has announced Elizabeth Newman will replace Andy Phelps as its head of BWS, according to Harpers' sister magazine Off Licence News

WSTA members angered by lack of support and other "freeloading" businesses in the trade

Published: 13 May, 2015

The WSTA has called for more drinks businesses to take up membership and support the trade organisation as some members that have been contributing to the body feel that other business in the trade are "freeloading."

Convivality Retail reports "solid year" as revenues rise on back of investments

Published: 11 May, 2015

Conviviality Retail, the owners of Wine Rack and Bargain Booze, said it was on track for a 'solid' year following investment and expansion of the business.

Naked Wines eyes up growth following its partnership with Majestic

Published: 11 May, 2015

Naked Wine's managing director Eamon FitzGerald talk to Harpers about the future of the new Naked Wines following its acquistion by Majestic.

Interview: Majestic's new boss Rowan Gormley and Naked's Eamon FitzGerald on the company's new era

Published: 11 May, 2015

Majestic's new chief executive Rowan Gormley and Naked's managing director Eamon FitzGerald talk about the future of the new company.

Bottle Apostle set to open fourth shop in London

Published: 07 May, 2015

Independent London wine merchant Bottle Apostle is set to open its fourth shop, which will be sited in the former London 2012 Olympic Athlete's village.

Morrisons continues to face challenges as sales slump 1.1% in Q1

Published: 07 May, 2015

Morrisons reported like-for-like sales down 2.9% in the first quarter of the financial year today with total sales (excluding fuel) down 1.1%.

Sainsbury's posts first loss in ten years

Published: 06 May, 2015

Sainsbury's has posted the first loss in more than ten years, but analysts agree the annual results are better than expectations.

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.

Australian Vintage appoints Bibendum PLB sales manager

Published: 05 May, 2015

Australian Vintage has recruited Karen Humphrey's from Bibendum PLB as its new business manager for Sainsbury's.

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.

UK GDP slumps to a 3 year low, signalling potential trouble ahead for retailers

Published: 28 April, 2015

The UK's economy grew at its slowest pace in three years, expanding just 0.3% in for the first quarter of the year.

McWilliam's Wines Group launches Evans & Tate' s Expressions range in the UK

Published: 27 April, 2015

The McWilliam's Wines Group is launching a new wine range called Expressions under its Australian Evans & Tate brand at London Wine Fair 2015.

Retail figures slump compared to February, but still up for the year

Published: 24 April, 2015

Retail sale slumped 0.5% last month, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics - but sales are still up 4.2% on the same time last year.

Q&A: Jonathan James talks to Harpers about his new franchise venture of Conviviality Retail

Published: 24 April, 2015

Jonathan James, the convenience store expert who has taken on the franchise of 36 stores acquired by Conviviality Retail from GT News, talks to Harpers.co.uk about his ambitious plans for the business.

Conviviality Retail's franchise boss to consult customers on refit of GT stores

Published: 24 April, 2015

Jonathan James, the convenience store expert who has taken on the franchise of 36 Conviviality Retail's stores, is rolling out a customer consultation process to get customers' input on the refit of its new stores.

Sainsbury's set to cut 800 jobs in shake-up

Published: 23 April, 2015

Sainsbury's has become the latest retailer to announce job cuts in a radical shake-up of its stores.

Tesco 2015 results report a £6.4 billion loss

Published: 22 April, 2015

Tesco has reported the worst annual financial results in the retailer's 96 year history, showing a loss of £6.376bn and underlying profit before tax fall just over 70% for the year.