Last week, M&S held its spring/summer press tasting. Drinks Retailing caught up with Andrew Shaw, head of trading for drinks, to talk about the customer experience, new product development and the department’s approach to sustainability How does M&S differ from other retailers when it comes to drinks? Andrew Shaw: Other retailers sell more promotable lines because a lot of brand owners have the investment…

Cult Wines has introduced a new trading platform for buying, selling and investing in wine with secure blockchain technology to prove the authenticity of the products.  Created by the wine investment management company and named Cult X, the platform will be accessible as an app, and will feature around £200 million in “investment grade” wines for users to bid on with live market data…

Waitrose has released its Drinks Report 2022, highlighting some of the key trends in beer, wine and spirits. From the rise in retro cocktails to eco-conscious bag-in-box wines, Pierpaolo Petrassi MW, trading director for BWS, said consumers are becoming “increasingly keen to expand their horizons when it comes to their drinks cabinet”.  Consumers are becoming more willing to try wine derived from lesser-known…

Staff absences, freight disruption and inflationary pressures caused by the Omicron variant as well as macroeconomic headwinds took the shine off Christmas for Virgin Wines. The online retailer said in a trading statement for the six months to the end of December that the effect of labour shortages meant the business had to ‘cut off’ for Christmas delivery two days earlier than planned, negatively impacting…

The changing drinks landscape has led Halewood Wine & Spirits in a new direction and precipitated a name change. The phrase “we pivoted the business” was not often used before the pandemic, but for many in the drinks trade the decision to swiftly switch focus has been invaluable. Halewood Wine & Spirits is one such business and its agility in navigating this turbulent period has…

Bestway Wholesale has written to The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, to urge the government to “ensure the right decisions are taken for consumers, shopworkers and for retailers”, in relation to the proposed relaxation of Sunday Trading Laws. Managing director, Dawood Pervez, has added his voice to concerns highlighted by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and alongside the revival of the “Keep Sunday…

Administrators remain hopeful that they can sell a significant number of stores from the former EFB Retail empire to their preferred bidder within the next month. The owner of Oddbins, Whittalls Wines Merchants and Wine Cellar Trading fell into administration in January 2019. It blamed Brexit, economic uncertainty and poor high street sales over the Christmas period. Administrators Duff & Phelps have been trading the…