Slurp Launches New Fine Wines Division
Today Slurp.co.uk – the UK’s fastest growing online wine retailer – launched its new Fine Wines Division headed by rising industry star Alan J Macdonald. Alan was headhunted by Slurp from Quintessentially Wines to establish the new operation and to build a team of fine wine salespeople and product specialists. Based in Slurp’s new corporate headquarters in West London, Alan will bring Slurp’s existing client base a personal sales dimension to its already strong suite of online tools and amazing list.
Alan has an excellent wine pedigree. He was born on a vineyard (in Victoria, Australia) and since coming to the UK worked at Jeroboams before moving to Quintessentially Wines. He now joins Slurp as Head of Fine Wines, tasked with accelerating Slurp’s push into this tier of the market. This acceleration will come from a firm foundation. Of the 3,700 wines already listed by Slurp, a large number already fall into the fine wines category and the company’s average spend per customer visit is now well above £100.
Slurp.co.uk Managing Director Dr Jeremy Howard welcomed Alan’s appointment:
“As with our broader market offering, our aim is to shake up the fine wine world by offering fresh thinking and innovation. With one or two exceptions, UK fine wine merchants have been slow to embrace the full range of possibilities that the internet offers. In partnership with Slurp’s existing management and technologists, Alan will lead a drive to make fine wines more exciting and appealing to a new generation of younger and more technologically aware consumers. Our customers care much less about whether their wine partner was established 200 years ago or 300 years ago, but more with the tools, services and competitive pricing that they provide.”
Slurp will shortly be unveiling a number of new initiatives, some involving strategic partners, which will revolutionize the way fine wines are bought and sold by consumers. The years leading up to 2008 were times of plenty for UK fine wine merchants. But winds of change are now blowing through the industry. Traditionally independent players like Lay and Wheeler (est. 1854) did not make it through the recession with their independence intact. The future will belong to those who excite, enthuse and capture a new generation of exacting, demanding, time poor but value conscious fine wine buyers.
The task won’t be easy – but by combining energetic and imaginative sales techniques, cutting edge internet technology and the financial muscle provided by a venture capital sponsor, Slurp is well placed to make substantial market inroads.
