Meet The Team

increases from the supply base and we’re working really hard with our suppliers to do this. Helping Premier retailers to develop their premium ranges will also be another big focus. Despite the cost-of-living crisis, wine is still a category that shoppers like to treat themselves with. We think that premium wines will continue to motor over the coming months as shoppers swap meals out for indulgent nights in with a premium bottle of wine. As a result, for Premier retailers, we will be focusing hard on strengthening that key £8 to £10 price-bracket.

WHAT ELSE CAN PREMIER RETAILERS LOOK FORWARD TO ON WINE?

Retailers will continue to see strong ‘2 for £10 and ‘2 for £12’ promotions on key brands throughout the year, which really do help to drive footfall and profits. With sweeter wines also making a comeback we will also be increasing our range on Jam Shed and 19 Crimes. Argentinian Malbec is still a really on-trend growth area too, so we’ll also be doing more work with brands such as Trivento.

The other exciting thing to note is that in addition to all the great work we are doing on premium, we will also be securing even more entry-level price points and we are sourcing much more from across the group to help us do just that. We’ve already seen some fantastic Tesco brands start to come into Booker recently, including an Italian Pinot Grigio and Italian Rosé under the Caparelli brand, which is now a Booker Exclusive.

TALK TO US ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED BY SEASONAL EVENTS?

Seasonal events are really important in the wine category. We are currently working on the Christmas opportunity at the moment which is obviously a key one. Everyone wants to treat themselves at Christmas, so there is a huge opportunity for retailers to upsell more premium products. Sparkling products and red wines in particular will offer fantastic opportunities for retailers to grow sales and profits this Christmas.

HOW IS THE LOW TO NO WINE CATEGORY PERFORMING?

The total low to no alcohol category is flying and wine is certainly no exception, growing at 900% year on year. For a retailer looking to enter the low to no wine category for the first time I would suggest keeping it small and simple to start with. Go for something like a McGuigan Zero which is one of the better-flavoured no alcohol wines. The low to no market has made some major improvements recently and some of these new products such as McGuigan Zero really stand up. For a no alcohol sparkling I’d also suggest stocking Nozeco.

MARK’S TOP TIPS

l When it comes to wine, having the right range with more facings is key. l We recommend at least two or three facings of your best-selling SKUs. l Don’t be afraid of chopping out lines that aren’t working to make space for more facings of your top-sellers. l Make sure you have a good solid offering across the key price points and follow the RSPs. l Support promotions with gondola end displays. l Try to keep most, if not all, of your white wine and rosé chilled to make the most of the ‘drink now’ market. l If you have additional space, where you can create an exciting display for one of the big promotions, such as at

Christmas, then do so! l A nice off-shelf display of all the deals together will help to drive sales and profits.

{We recently did a trial with a Premier retailer where we took 57 SKUs out of his wine range and then gave two or three facings to his best-sellers – his sales went up 17%. }