Analysis & Insights - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

On-trade: A year of change

Published: 21 December, 2016

2016 has had its highlights and, despite challanges along the way, the restaurant sector is in decent shape

Logistics: Coping with the cuts

Published: 21 December, 2016

The ability to cut supply chain costs while at the same time maintaining a high-quality distribution service has become a holy grail for many wine merchants and retailers.

Champagne and Britain are inextricably linked. As the region's longest-standing, largest export market, hovering steadily around the 33 million bottle mark every year, it is surprising that the sound of popping corks does not drown out all other noise.

Taking education to the front line

Published: 19 December, 2016

The current on-trade staffing shortage is being exacerbated by a lack of appropriate training. Harpers spoke to Matthew Cocks about Jascots' WineEd initiative designed to help plug the gap

Top Tipples of 2016: The 12-month countdown

Published: 12 December, 2016

As the British electorate showed us in June - followed by Americans in November - 2016 has been the year to rip up the rulebook.

Is staff recruitment a ticking time bomb?

Published: 09 December, 2016

According to Paul Jenkins, purchasing director at D&D hospitality group, recruiting and retaining staff isn't just a perennial problem - it's getting worse.

Meeting the Brexit challenge

Published: 05 December, 2016

The UK referendum decision on European Union membership surprised many, but while the parliamentary and legal bodies work through the most appropriate process to enact legislation, the wine and spirit trade can use the time to plan for change.

Festive fizz

Published: 29 November, 2016

Champagne may be facing a bumpy time in the UK but, as Christmas approaches, all signs are that sparkling wines without the famous French appellation attached to their label are in rude health and many retailers are pinning their hopes on bumper fizz sales this festive season.

Brexit - boom or bust?

Published: 28 November, 2016

Britain's retailers, faced with the fall in sterling and market turbulence, surely have little to celebrate in Christmas 2016.

The Drinks Wholesaler: Drinking cheek by jowl

Published: 22 November, 2016

"Change is the only constant," mused the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, and that has certainly never been more apt than in the current drinking and dining scene.

Bordeaux's squeezed middle ground

Published: 22 November, 2016

Beyond the first-growth hoopla and hype Bordeaux has been struggling. The good 2016 vintage coupled with a new CIVC approach to consumer marketing might be the turning point

Insights: Curating consumer preference

Published: 18 November, 2016

New WinePro research from Kingsland goes beyond defining consumers, unearthing their needs and habits on different consuming occasions.

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Published: 16 November, 2016

As the countdown begins to the most wonderful - and lucrative - time of the year, Harpers looks at how retailers can make the most of the opportunities presented by premium spirits.

On-trade: How to grow and expand your business

Published: 11 November, 2016

When Nathan Lee and Jason Mead were building their bar and restaurant group in Bristol, starting with Prohibition-style bar Hyde & Co in 2010, they received no shortage of advice on locations.

Cracking the UK market

Published: 09 November, 2016

At first glance, the answers to the holy grail of successful trading in the UK might appear obvious.

How wine is adapting to suit a new generation

Published: 07 November, 2016

With technology opening up new possibilities, the trade is finding new ways of not only engaging with younger consumers but making them part of their business models too.

The cost of Brexit to suppliers and retailers

Published: 04 November, 2016

Suppliers are under intense pressure to increase prices following sterling's dramatic fall. But the costs are not falling evenly.

Provence Part 2: Oaked, whites and reds coming to the fore

Published: 01 November, 2016

In Part 1 of our Provence two-parter, we looked at how Provence is evolving its 'pink summer quaffing' reputation.

Provence Part 1: Beyond summer rosé

Published: 31 October, 2016

It used to be that when you opened that bottle of Cotes de Provence rosé that you bought back from the south of France, the phrase "Caveat Emptor" would run through your head.