Wine designs fail if don't stand for something, Stranger & Stranger's Kevin Shaw tells Wine Vision

The secret to good brand design is for it to stand for something which is where wine often falls down as they just all "blur" into each other, according to Kevin Shaw, founder of design agency Stranger & Stranger.

Glenmorangie launches Dornoch in to World Duty Free

Glenmorangie Dornoch is being launched in to the travel retail sector from November 26 in an exclusive deal with the World Duty Free Group before being released across the duty free sector. 

Consumers are now "risk averse" Future Foundation tells Wine Vision

Simon McMurtrie opens Wine Vision with clarion call to industry

Simon McMurtrie, chief executive of Direct Wines, opened Wine Vision 2014 with a clarion call to the global wine industry to do all it can to get people to not only spend more on wine, but to buy a wider selection of wines.

Majestic profits slip on the back of high investment costs

Majestic Wine's profits have slipped 10.5% to £8.5 million, although group sales are up 2.8% to £133.8 million in the first half of the year.

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

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.

The Vineyard in Dorking has an offer it wants its supppliers to refuse

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but not always.

Top wine brands choose Vente Privee as new route to market

Top name wine producers are using flash sales site Vente Privée to attract new consumers to their brands in the UK.

Hangingditch to attract 500 guests to Manchester Cathedral for annual wine fair

Hangingditch, the leading Manchester independent wine merchant, is expecting up to 500 guests to attend its annual consumer wine fair on Friday which also offers live classical musical and operatic singing in the impressive backdrop of the Manchester Cathedral.

Consumers win in UK supermarket wars as discounters continue to expand

Consumers are coming out ahead as the UK supermarket wars rage on and another discounter commits to expansion in the UK's highly competitive retail market.

Tesco bolsters wine team as it looks to improve quality and customer focus

Tesco has boosted its wine team with the addition of an assistant buyer and quality manager.

Conviviality Retail to expand into Scotland

Conviviality Retail, owner of the Bargain Booze and Wine Rack brands, has revealed plans to expand into Scotland with its half-yearly trading update broadly in line with last year.

China's Singles Day online spend surpasses $2 billion in first hour

China's Singles Day is the world's largest online shopping day of the year and today it smashed online spending records yet again hitting more than $2 billion spent online in the first hour.

Oddbins Ayo Akintola in his own words: Majestic is 'screwing' suppliers

Oddbins managing director Ayo Akintola describes Majestic's recent demand from suppliers for financial support for its new warehouse as "one of the shabbiest business decisions" in the past couple of decades in the UK wine industry. Here, in his own words, he responds to its actions:

Oddbins chief slams Majestic's supplier demands as 'morally repugnant'

Oddbins boss Ayo Akintola has ended 25 years of cordial relations with rival retailer Majestic in a hard-hitting comment for Harpers.co.uk in which he accuses the firm of "morally repugnant" and "shabby" behaviour after it called on suppliers to fund a new warehouse.

Amathus opens fourth London store in Shoreditch

Drinks distributor and retailer Amathus is opening a fourth London store, this time in Shoreditch, after buying the City Beverage Company business.

TescoGate Analysis: Tesco woes go from bad to worse

The cat is still well and truly among the pigeons at Tesco. Following its £263 million profits overstatement, suspension of head wine honcho Dan Jago, along with seven other senior executives, and the current investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, every little has not helped.

TescoGate: UK investors could join US shareholders and fire legal action against senior chiefs

Tesco UK and European investors could join US shareholders in taking legal action against the beleaguered retail chain in the wake of its £263 million overstatement of profits.

Lidl best value supermarket for wine, says new app

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.

Can Booths leave its mark on the rest of the UK?

With strong sales growth across beers, wines and spirits, Booths continues to show the way forward in the north of England. But what can it teach the rest of the country? Andrew Don investigates