Slurp Wine

New Appointments in Slurp’s UK Purchasing and Accounts Team

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 12:17:00 +0100

Slurp today announced the promotion of two internal candidates into prominent roles within the UK-based Purchasing Division. Alex Gonszor will take up the role of Purchasing Manager and will head the Purchasing department. Alex is a product of the highly successful Slurp graduate training programme, having joined Slurp direct from University. He will retain specific responsibility for Fine Wine trading in addition to his managerial duties. Joining Alex in the Purchasing team will be Ellie Warder. Yet another Slurp Graduate Trainee, Ellie has been working in Logistics and Purchasing for the past year. She will now transfer to the Purchasing Group full-time with overall responsibility for all retail purchasing.

In a further development, external hire Katherine Booth has been appointed as Slurp's first Group Financial Controller. Katherine is a highly experience management accountant, with spells at Apax Partners and KPMG (in New Zealand) under her belt. She will report to the main Group Board and specifically to new Finance Director John Smithurst. With the launch of SlurpVin.fr in France and SlurpWein.de in Germany (complimenting the thriving Slurp.asia business) a more globally-coordinated approach was required at this time, and our Accounts staff in the UK and Hong Kong will all report to Katherine.

Slurp Secures Success in IWC 2012

Sat, 14 Sep 2013 10:35:00 +0100

Slurp.co.uk affirmed its position as the UK’s leading wine, beer and spirits online superstore by being named Direct Merchant of the Year 2012 by International Wine Challenge. Slurp beat off competition from Tesco, Laithwaites, Swig Wines and the Wine Society to take victory in the highly regarded industry awards. The judges flagged Slurp’s huge range of premium products and combination of single bottle availability with next day delivery as significant differentiating factors. Slurp was short-listed for the award in 2010 and 2011, so the victory this year was especially welcome.

Tim Atkin MW, who presented the award to Nico Sunnucks in a black tie ceremony at London’s Park Lane Hilton, said: “Following a brilliant recent re-design, Slurp’s website is engaging and practical. The judges were impressed with how easy it is to buy single bottles and the broad selection of wines is exemplary. Their social media approach is amongst the leaders in their field.”

New Slurp.co.uk iPhone App Boasts World's Largest Wine List

Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:06:00 +0100

Today Slurp.co.uk - the UK's fastest growing online wine retailer - launched its long awaited iPhone App. With almost 6,000 wines, beers and spirits listed for sale, we believe the App is the largest such iPhone App in the world!

Download the App here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id384133393?mt=8

The Slurp iPhone App is more than just a listing of wines. Customers are also able to:

Use the innovative Online Sommelier to pair wine with any food or occasion whilst on the go. This will be a huge help for people in restaurants needing a little help with a daunting wine list.
View Slurp's Best Selling Wines Lists.
Quickly and easily search for any wine by country, category, keyword or price range.

In the App itself, the products are shown with high quality images, full descriptions and other information. A handy 'click to buy' tab takes customers to the checkout page on the main website.

ENDS.

For more information, please can the Slurp.co.uk Press Office at info@slurp.co.uk.

Social Gifting 'Gifts' Slurp.co.uk A Welcome Summer Boost

Thu, 8 Aug 2013 10:06:00 +0100

The social gifting phenomenon (already worth $100bn annually in the US) is spreading across the pond. The IMRG recently reported that gifting was the retail sector currently experiencing the most rapid growth in the UK (+43% yoy). The leading global US company Wrapp today deepened its partnership with online wine retailer Slurp.co.uk by featuring Slurp in its ‘Wrapp Wednesday’ promotion today (which coincides with ‘Global Gifting Day’).

Under the promotion, anyone sharing three free Slurp £10 gift vouchers via Wrapp will receive one for themselves as a ‘thank you’. These vouchers can be redeemed against any products on Slurp.co.uk. Gift vouchers are shared automatically on Facebook, and givers can top up the amount or club together with friends to increase the value of a gift. Click here to see the offer.

Like Slurp, Wrapp is also growing rapidly in the UK, with 7,000 new users signed up in July alone. And Slurp is already benefitting greatly from the partnership. Since going live on Wrapp in May, Slurp has already seen over 700 of its £5 free Gift Cards distributed via Wrapp, with a good number of redemptions and new customers. July over June growth in gifts given was over 200%, and the average age of gift redeemers in July was just 23!

Slurp Group Announces Audacious New Push into France

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:13:00 +0100

The Slurp Group has launched an audacious bid to beat the French on their own patch! SlurpVin.fr (www.slurpvin.fr) levers British e-commerce expertise into a French online market that is lagging well behind its Anglo-Saxon neighbour.

SlurpVin.fr is aiming high, targeting a #1 position in French wine, spirit and premium beer online sales within three years. Launched initially with around 700 products, the range will grow to 2,000+ within three months and then further still by year end.

SlurpVin.fr includes all of the features that have driven Slurp.co.ukís dramatic growth in the UK. The branding is contemporary (not just unstuffy, but "anti-stuffy"). Ease of ordering is paramount, with a large number of products available in singles. There are Cork Points (Bouchons de Fidélité), "Simon the Online Sommelier", "VinTrader" (allowing online trading of fine wines) and social media (Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest) embedded throughout the site. SlurpVision features prominently, with a French language video on the homepage.

SlurpVin.fr is targeting the same knowledgeable premium retail customers as in the UK. We expect the inital audience to be younger, affluent French consumers who wish to expand their horizons beyond domestic wines through a modern, dynamic online experience. For this reason, Slurpvin.fr will emphasise New World products - mainly of which are surprisingly difficult to obtain in France.

Slurp Awarded Runner Up in Portuguese Wine Awards 2013

Wed, 6 Mar 2013 12:12:00 +0000

On 5th March 2013 Slurp.co.uk was awarded Runner Up in the category of “Online / Mail Order” in the annual Portuguese Wine Awards 2013. Emily Acha Derrington, Slurp’s Head of Marketing, collected the award at a reception held at The Residence of the Ambassador of Portugal. The award was made by the Association of Portuguese Wine Importers.

The award reflects the progress Slurp has made broadening its range beyond the usual European ‘suspects’ in Old World wines. Slurp was recognised both for its range of Portuguese wines and its efforts to promote the excellence and the value for money that Portuguese wines now represent. Slurp offers a high quality range of Portuguese reds and whites in the premium retail category, in addition to its traditional Port selection.

Slurp Appoints New Sales Executive in Fine Wines Group

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:01:00 +0000

Slurp.co.uk today confirming the appointment of Simone Williams to its Fine Wines Sales team in London. Simone’s interest in wine started at university and was fuelled by a spell living in Hong Kong during the recent ‘boom’ period, where she cut her teeth as an amateur wine investor as well as a consumer of fine wines. Returning to the UK, Simone chose to complete a Masters in Marketing to gain a more commercial perspective of the wine industry. She wrote her dissertation on the changing markets for English sparkling wine and Champagne. Alongside her studies she worked as a Sommelier for the Hotel du Vin group - which provided an opportunity to learn even more about Fine Wine. She joins the Fine Wine team after completely a rigorous four month internship and training period with Slurp.

ENDS.

Slurp.co.uk Jumps into Top 250 Best Performing UK Retail Websites

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:35:00 +0000

After first making the list of the UK’s Top 500 Best Performing Retail Websites in 2012, Slurp was delighted to learn that its Slurp.co.uk site had broken into the Top 250 for the first time (Q1 2013). It was the largest climber amongst major drinks sites, leaping 49 places from the 298th spot that it occupied in Q4 2012 to 249^th place this time around.

The survey, carried out by the independent online research company Sitemorse, does not measure sales or traffic volumes, but instead uses a complex algorithm to assess the fundamental user experience of each site. It measures the quality and performance of websites, rather than the marketing budget behind them.

It was interesting to note how many large company sites did not make the Top 250. Laithwaites (424^th), Virgin Wines (361^st), Naked Wines (442^nd), and the even The Sunday Times Wine Club (449^th) all placed outside the top tier. And even sites that did make it were showing negative momentum (Majestic was down 49 places at 204^th spot).

ENDS.

Games Impact is Positive for Slurp.co.uk

Fri, 3 Aug 2012 11:07:00 +0100

Slurp.co.uk has recorded a big increase in web sales in the run up to, and first week of, the London Olympics.

In the period 21st July to 1st August 2012 UK sales are up 53.3% over the same period in 2011. This is a greater growth rate than Slurp's YTD growth number, indicating that there has been a specific boost to spending during this period. We believe that this increase is driven by two factors: 1) people stocking up before the start of the Games - as we expect to see before major sporting events (and our video on the wines being poured at the Olympics was an important driver here). But we also believe that 2) since the games began that a lot of our London customers have been choosing to shop online rather than try to get to what they expected to be very congested high streets.

Thankfully our North West London logistics hub has experienced no delays or significant issues – so our next day ‘Slurp Express; service has operated completely unimpaired thus far. We have issued no negative guidance to customers on potential disruption and this has undoubtedly played a part in keeping sales buoyant.

ENDS.

Slurp’s Response to the Daily Offers Craze Introducing: SLURP DEALS

Fri, 8 Jun 2012 09:24:00 +0100

Today Slurp unveiled its much anticipated response to the daily offers phenomenon sweeping Britain (and the world!).

Slurp Deals – launched on Slurp.co.uk today (www.slurp.co.uk/slurp-deals) - will market daily offers with a difference. Every Slurp Deal will feature a full video tasting note showcasing the product and explaining why it was chosen. Slurp’s Head of UK Retail Services Emily Acha Derrington explains the thinking:

“Our customers are not generally interested in promotions based on price alone. They are discerning, and whilst everyone is attracted by a bargain, they need to know that each Slurp Deal is something genuinely special. We want to show them the product up close and personal; its look, taste, some background information and why we love it. This is why our resident tasting expert Victoria Daskal (of SlurpVision fame!) will present a dedicated tasting video note of each one."

To receive Slurp Deals, customers will need to sign up to a regular email, making it more like a private buyer’s club. But unlike some competitors, Slurp will not try to extract a monthly subscription or minimum spend. Slurp Deals will feature a wide range of products from well-known wines, through premium beers to spirits and accessories. Discounts will reach 70%, or even 80%, in some instances. Two deals at different price points will be offered simultaneously. The Deals will be strictly limited in terms of time and availability. Customers will be encouraged to share the Deals through social media links.

Slurp has been quietly gathering subscriptions for its new initiative over the past couple of weeks and has already had a great response. Slurp Deals will now be the subject of a major marketing campaign across multiple channels as Slurp looks to boost its distribution list past 100,000.

Following today’s launch in the UK, Slurp Deals will roll out on Slurp’s French site SlurpVin.fr shortly, and then it will migrate to the series of European sites currently under development. Slurp aims to be running large pan-European deals on multiple sites before the end of the year.

Slurp in New Push to Alert British Companies to Wine Gifting Possibilities

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:58:00 +0100

Today sees the launch of a new campaign to show British companies and institutions how to use wine more creatively to deepen relationships with key customers and partners.

Slurp has produced a dedicated new mini-site (www.slurp.co.uk/corporate) and will launch an SEO/Press/Email campaign targeting 36,000 UK purchasing managers directly. A new department has been created at Slurp’s London HQ to help corporates get more out of wine.

Slurp believes that many more companies could use wine gifting and wine-based loyalty programmes successfully. In December 2011 Slurp ran a loyalty programme for a major retailer in which customers were sent a free bottle of Prosecco as a reward for spending a certain amount. The campaign was a huge success and the retailer deepened its relationship with thousands of key customers very cost effectively.

Slurp is now actively pitching similar initiatives to a number of UK companies and agents.

On top of this, Slurp was surprised in December 2011 by the level of seasonal corporate gifting requests. These requests involved Slurp sending multiple hundreds of individual bottles and cases to customers all over the country. Once again, the results were extremely positive with companies reporting very high satisfaction levels. But Slurp questions why such initiatives are used only for one week in the year when the evidence suggests that they are effective year round. Being a national and international delivery specialist, Slurp is especially well placed to execute such campaigns.

Slurp’s Head of UK Retail Services Emily Acha Derrington said that companies were often unaware of the possibilities:

“We need to get out there and really bang the drum on this. Virtually everyone is delighted to receive a gift of wine from a company or organisation, and it can be a really cost effective gifting option in these straightened times. But we need much more awareness of what the options are for companies. Our campaign seeks to address this."

Slurp Excited by Pinterest Possibilities

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:41:00 +0000

Slurp has become the first major UK wine retailer to make all its 6,000+ products 'pinnable' on Pinterest - the explosive new social media platform. Slurp sees significant sales potential in Pinterest and has already created 25 ‘Boards’ through which to showcase its wines and other products: http://pinterest.com/slurpwine/.

As well as viewing Slurp’s own Boards - which show imaginative food and wine pairings on temptingly titled Boards such as ‘Moroccan Dinner’, ‘An English Wedding’, ‘Italian Summer Dinner’ or ‘Gin O’Clock’ - Slurp customers can now ‘pin’ Slurp products onto their own Boards. These can then be shared with friends.

As well as offering fabulous contextualised presentations of Slurp’s favourite products, Slurp has also started using Pinterest for special promotions. Slurp’s ‘Fine Wine Specials’ Board offers deeper pocketed customers amazing and often exclusive deals on fine wine products: http://pinterest.com/slurpwine/slurp-fine-wines-special-offers/.

Pinterest has shot to prominence as its referral traffic has eclipsed that of giants like Facebook and Google. Pinterest lets users to grab little bits of web content and arrange (‘pin’) them on personal 'Boards'. These Boards are then shared and hence popular products / offers etc. can spread virally across the internet.

Slurp's e-marketing Manager Emily Acha Derrington explains how Pinterest has the potential to eclipse both Twitter and Facebook as a genuine driver of wine sales:

"In terms of wine, Twitter has descended into an interminable (and often pretty dull) conversation between the wine trade and itself. And on Facebook, people are generally more interested in sharing social experiences than buying things. But Pinterest offers something different, linking social and commercial in an appealing way. We have already been surprised at the uptick of traffic to products showcased on our Boards.”

New Checkout Design a Hit with Slurpers

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:15:00 +0000

This week Slurp's development team rolled out a redesigned, and much simplified, new Checkout for Slurp.co.uk.

The new Checkout features a simple one page design with voucher codes and the popular ‘Cork Points’ programme available via the ‘Basket’ section. The new Shopping Basket automatically refreshes if any changes are made to it, and it is now much easier to change delivery options on the Checkout page itself.

The new format was in action quickly as it coincided with one of Slurp's fastest ever selling sales promotions - of the highly rated Darien Rioja Reserva 2007. Thankfully, the new Checkout held up very well and Slurp actually recorded a slightly higher conversion rate of Baskets into Completed Checkouts than previously. So the new simplified Checkout appears to be repaying its development costs immediately.

The new Checkout will be rolled out to other Slurp brands (Slurp.asia and Slurpvin.fr) in the next few days. Slurp is also now working on a ‘one click’ checkout facility for its returning customers. This is expected to be delivered in March 2012.

Slurp Lists 500th Beer – Appoints New Manager to Oversee Strategic Push Into Non-Wine Products

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Slurp.co.uk today announced that its range of specialist beers has passed the 500 mark, and that it had appointed Mr Richard Ellis to the position of Beer and Spirits Manager. The appointment marks a major strategic commitment by Slurp to expand more aggressively into non-wine alcoholic drinks.

Since launching its specialist beer range in late 2011, Slurp’s sales have been rising steadily on the back of increased listings and some exciting promotional campaigns. In beer, Slurp has utilised the same strategy which has driven its explosive growth in wine, offering a large number (around 250) of different specialist beers by the single bottle for next day delivery (with no minimum order) – encouraging customers to try as many different ones as possible.

In terms of promotion, Slurp has been creative in designing mixed cases around regional and topical themes. A recent best seller was its ‘Australia Day’ Mixed Case of 12 high quality Australian beers from four different producers. Of course Slurpvision has played a role, with Richard featuring in a recent video tasting a super-premium German beer (Schneider Weisse Nelson Sauvin - click here to watch). Slurp Beer has its own dedicated Twitter account (#slurpbeer), through which beer Slurpers are kept apprised of trends and offers on Slurp’s dedicated Beer home page (www.slurp.co.uk/beer).

In terms of sales, Slurp has been surprised at the popularity of Australian, New Zealand and American beers. These have been the strongest sellers, with more traditional Belgium and German beers struggling to keep up. Antipodean beers represent three of Slurp’s current top six best sellers. But the overall number one spot is held by US favourite Pabst Blue Ribbon. And the Brits? The craft brewery movement in the UK (Brewdog being a good example) are increasingly popular with beer Slurpers, and Ellis believes it will not be long before the best of British is challenging the ‘new world’ for supremacy.

‘SlurpVision’ Now a Major Force in Online Wine – 100 Videos Up!

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Today Slurp announced that its ‘SlurpVision’ video channel has passed 100 tasting videos. To celebrate its emergence as a major platform supporting online sales, SlurpVision has been given new home page prominence on Slurp’s main global websites

SlurpVision is presented and run by Victoria Daskal with the help of a dedicated film and editing team. Although only six months old, the channel has already attracted 17,800 upload views and has nearly 300 subscribers.

SlurpVision combines wine education with a strong commercial rationale. Many of the videos give an informational and practical assessment of the products being promoted by Slurp. They give the viewer a deeper insight into the wine, beer or spirit – complete with a QR code linking to the Slurp website. They have been shown to materially boost sales, and SlurpVision tasting note videos are now routinely embedded into Slurp marketing emails. Slurp believes that words and photos are no longer enough to excite consumers and the company plans to use tasting videos in support of all major marketing campaigns in 2012.

Victoria Daskal explains the thinking further:

“The idea behind SlurpVision was to introduce consumers to the winemakers who make their favourite wines, explain common wine terms and discover the key regions one video at a time. The response has been amazing. We have produced videos with celebrated winemakers such as Peter Gago (Penfolds) and Serge Hochar (Chateau Musar) as well as interviewed leading critics like Steven Spurrier and Tim Atkin MW. We have created a number of themed videos promoting specific regions such as English, Indian, Languedoc and Washington wines. We have filmed tasting videos of scores of wines that have gone on to become big sellers on Slurp”.

Having demonstrated the success of the idea in the UK, Slurp is rolling out the service to its Asian customers – SlurpVision is today being embedded on the Slurp.asia homepage for the first time featuring a video on what to drink on Chinese New Year. Slurp believes that the thirst for wine knowledge and education is huge amongst Chinese consumers, and a series of Chinese subtitled videos are being planned for the first half of 2012.