THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 131, January 2024
Dog of the month: Pip The Wine Box, Torquay
A quarter of independent merchants are in London Despite rising rents and some demographic changes, figures show the capital remains the trade’s centre of gravity
L
ondon’s dominant position in the specialist wine trade has been
underlined by the latest figures for
independent merchants in the UK.
Almost a quarter of all specialist indie
wine shops are based in the capital,
according to data compiled by The Wine Merchant.
The number stands at 241, out of a UK-
wide figure of 1,013 stores, representing 23.8% of the total.
Those stores are run by 150 businesses,
representing a 19.5% share of the UK-wide total of 770.
The figures show that, while the past
decade has seen some huge growth for
independent wine merchants , in major conurbations as well as market towns
across the country, the centre of gravity remains in the capital.
This is despite rising rents and some
demographic changes that mean that some previously buoyant London businesses have struggled for footfall.
Casualties in 2023 included Connaught
Cellars in central London and Last Drop
Wines in Fulham, both of which found it
The new branch of The Good Wine Shop in St Margarets, south west London
hard to attract the level of local custom
which opened its fourth branch at the end
independents, running 20 branches.
in London as existing operators have
London.
London’s figure of one wine shop for every
they had enjoyed before Covid.
But there has been a flurry of openings
expanded their businesses and others
have entered the market for the first time. A recent example is The Good Wine Shop,
of last year when it took on the former
Oddbins store in St Margarets, south west Manchester, a city which has seen
a boom in its wine scene over the
past decade, now has 15 specialist
This equates to one wine shop for every 140,000 Mancunians, compared to 37,000 residents.
• Read more about The Good Wine Shop's latest branch opening on page 6.