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Slideshow
Top 10 Fortnum & Mason bestsellers
Jamie Waugh, drinks buyer at Fortnum & Mason, reveals the famous London store’s top 10 wine & spirits by value – excluding sparklers.
Fortnum’s – a landmark in London’s Piccadilly since 1707
“The real news is our spirits business, where we’ve had huge growth in the last 2-3 years,” said Waugh. “The reason we built a new spirits department [November 2013] is that our Scotch sales are up 20%, gin and vodka’s up 47% and Cognac 10%.” Meanwhile Fortnum’s overall wine sales have been growing 10 – 12%, he explained.
Among spirits highlights was Dodd’s gin, made by The London Distillery Co. and named after Ralph Dodd whose original dream for the distillery in 1807 was never quite realised. “We would credit Dodd’s with being part of the whole revolution in our spirits category,” said Waugh.
The two biggest categories for his department are the bottles supplied in the store’s Christmas hampers – mainly own-label in the case of wine, and champagne. Neither of these are included in the ‘Top 10’, nor the wines supplied to Fortnum’s five restaurants.
Bordeaux features strongly in the Top 10, thanks to private client sales, and for Waugh: “it is still a big part of our business, and was up 15% last year, while Burgundy was 5% up.” Also on the list is Cloudy Bay Sauvignon. “I’m amazed it’s still hanging in there,” he said. Yet maybe it’s the price. At £23.50, it is £4 cheaper than Majestic Wines unless you buy more than one bottle. “It shows we’re not as expensive for wine as people might think!” said Waugh.
Some happy customers tuck into their Fortnum’s hampers
Click through to see Fortnum & Mason’ top-selling (still) wines and spirits by value in the last 12 months…