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Hallgarten Druitt to become a more insights and sales driven business

Published:  08 May, 2014

Hallgarten Druitt's decision to outsource its warehousing and bonding to LCB will allow it to concentrate on providing a far more insights driven business for its customers, according to managing director Andrew Bewes.

The move, announced last week, will result in what Bewes described as a "hybrid" delivery and logistics business which brings together the "best bits" of what both Hallgarten and LCB can deliver. Whilst Hallgarten, for example, will remain in charge of most of its own London deliveries, LCB's national capabilities will allow it provide a much better service in other parts of the country, most particularly in Scotland.

Bewes admitted it was quite a "spectacular decision" for a distributor to make, but stressed it was "one piece in a wider jigsaw" that would further strengthen and re-position Hallgarten's position in the trade.

It is also part of a long term strategy, since Bewes took control of Hallgarten in May 2009, to make it far more focused on the wine buying, marketing and sales functions of the business.

He likened the process to trying to turn around a "juggernaut" but was more than happy at the progress it is making. In particular he has worked hard to strengthen its management team which has seen Helen Munday join as marketing director from PLB, Richard Brooks move over from Pernod Ricard as head of national accounts and Susan Harper switch from Hatch Mansfield to lead its regional sales team and independent strategy.

He said both its on and off-trade customers can expect to benefit from the investments it is making in insights analysis of both its own data and the wider industry trends.

"All major wine companies are having to look far more closely at data. It is no longer just an add on to the business. We have to get on top of the data management of all our wines and how they are performing and make it part of the core of our business, so that it is behind every aspect of what we do."

One of its key strategies going forward is segmenting and promoting its offer more effectively to its customers.

It is, for example, launching a new promotional campaign around what it calls its "rising stars" and "emerging regions".

Targeted exclusively at the independent retail and on-trade sectors it hopes to be able to help merchants and restaurants alike to find and stock new interesting wines from "trailblazing winemakers and up-and-coming wine regions".

It has picked out an "eclectic selection of wines" from both the Hallgarten Druitt and Novum wine portfolios and will be driving these to the independent on and off-trade for the next three months to July 7.

Its "rising stars" include Matias Riccitelli, Larry Cherubino, Alicia Eyaralar (Tandem), Marco Sartori (Roccolo Grassi), Johann Donabaum and Sergi Montala (Moli del Capellans). The emerging regions campaign will see wines promoted from Greece, India, Japan, Croatia, Cyprus, Lebanon and England.

Hallgarten will look to help merchants run special events, tastings and competitions to promote the wines, supported by specific POS materials such as bottle displays, stickers and neckties which are being mailed out to its independent customers.

The winner of a best display competition will win an iPad.

Hallgarten will also be taking some of the featured winemakers around the country to take part in some specific tastings targeted at its on-trade customers starting in London & Bristol next week.

You can keep up to date with the promotion on social media via the #HDNemergingregions and #HDNrisingstars hashtags on Twitter.

* There were will be a more in-depth interview with Andrew Bewes in the June issue of Harpers and for subscribers on Harpers.co.uk.

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