Wine retailer Majestic has appointed Jane Masters MW to its buying team. Masters, who became a Master of Wine in 1997, has joined Majestic as…
Wine retailer Majestic has appointed Jane Masters MW to its buying team. Masters, who became a Master of Wine in 1997, has joined Majestic as…
Waitrose has appointed a fourth Master of Wine, as Barry Dick joins the team as beer, wine and spirit bulk sourcing manager. Dick, who will assume the role at the end of January, will focus on the management of the global importation and UK packing of wines and spirits for the drinks buying team. Dick’s CV includes degrees in food technology, European food marketing and…
Winetraders has announced that Beth Willard will join the commercial team as Buying Director. Willard joins Winetraders from Direct Wines where she has been Global Buying Manager for the last nine years, with responsibility for wines from Spain, Central & Eastern Europe, South America and various regions in France. Prior to this she was a Buyer at Alliance Wine after moving to the UK from…
I used to quite like January. It was a predictable and reassuring anticlimax to December’s frantic retailing; a bit of a breather before easing back into work with some not-strictly-necessary Burgundy en primeur, or perhaps a smattering of tasty Christmas leftovers gathered together in a bin end sale. There are no surprises to the average January. Normally, at this stage of the…
Mike James is moving on after 10 years of heading up Aldi’s wine buying team. As he prepares to take on a new role at the retailer’s global wine team in Salzburg, Austria, he talks about the highlights of his career in the UK trade. WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS IN THE ALDI WINE BUYING TEAM? Being…
A number of investors are reported to be interested in buying the Majestic Wines’ 200-strong retail estate, following the announcement in March that the company plans to change its corporate name to Naked Wines with increased focus on its online business. Private equity firm OpCapita, the former owner of the Comet retail business, is among a number of potential bidders for Majestic Wines’ network of…
The London Wine Fair organisers have said 26% of those who attended this year’s show did so for the first time, as a direct result of the “significant investment” in data management and a refreshed marketing strategy. LWF 2018 saw a 17% uplift in visitors overall and 465 companies took stands, an increase of 13% compared with 2017. Of the 465 companies who took stands,…
Bargain Booze has emerged from a tumultuous situation relatively unscathed and stock levels have returned to normal levels following Bestway’s takeover. Shelves were barren when parent company Conviviality plunged into administration, and Bestway’s first job after buying it was to get the supply chain back up and running. It also had to convince franchisees to stick with the group rather than defect…
