Morrisons to deliver chilled wine direct to customers' doors

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 21 May, 2014

Morrisons is to deliver chilled wine direct to consumers' doors as part of changes being made to its online business.

Last month it announced it would merge its standalone wine site Morrisons Cellar with its newly launched total grocery site Morrisons.com.

Laura Sheen, who heads up the retailer's online wine offering, told harpers.co.uk that based on the 18 months of data from operating Morrisons Cellar as a standalone site, it would now be offering deliveries within specified one hour slots, by Morrisons van drivers, as well as delivering wine chilled.

Morrisons van Morrisons vanMorrisons will deliver chilled wine, direct to customer' doors, within a specified one-hour delivery slot.

She gave the example that "customers having a barbecue on a Saturday evening can pre-order their wine to arrive, chilled, between 6 and 7pm. No-one else is doing that".

As the site prepares to migrate into the general grocery site, Sheen revealed it had been performing "ahead of expectations" and was "still an important part of the proposition". She added that the grocer had "always had in mind that it would move across to unify the brand".

Mark Jarman, head of wine operations at the supermarket, said it was making "deep range reviews on Italy and South America", with Argentina subject to "wholesale changes". There will be particular focus in "growth areas" in the South of Italy, with Pecorino being added to the list.

Around eight months ago it launched its own brand Signature and Chalkboard wines, 140 in total, with Chalkboard designed to retail at under £5. Its biggest selling wine is its Chalkboard Pinot Grigio, which retails at £3.99 and sells around 18,000 bottles per week, according to Phil Cave, wine category manager.

Jarman said that it had now moved much of its packing on its own brand wines, mostly from South Africa, to Accolade Park in Bristol, which has allowed it to maintain quality while boosting value. The range also scooped 10 awards at the International Wine Challenge, which Jarman described as a "fantastic endorsement".

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