Laithwaite’s to headline first TV wine series on QVC

UK wine merchant Laithwaite’s will this weekend headline the first dedicated wine sales series hosted by UK shopping TV channel QVC, the latest in the merchant’s portfolio of digitally-led sales initiatives.

The merchant already has a shop on eBay and earlier this year announced a multi million-pound investment in a new cloud-based communications platform as it seeks to adapt to changes in the way customers buy wine.

The activity between the wine merchant and QVC is part of a broader retail partnership, which will also see the shopping platform offer a further three specially curated wine cases available on their website.

“The partnership with QVC UK is a fantastic opportunity to bring something new to the channel and will help us to share our delicious wines with a wider audience,” said Tom Laithwaite, who will also be taking to the screen to offer his wine expertise.

This Saturday (16 September), viewers will be able to purchase wine cases curated by wine expert Tom Laithwaite, exclusively for QVC.

“Our food business has grown massively over the last five years, both in terms of sales and breadth of offering, so wine felt like a natural next step,” said a spokesperson from QVC UK.

“Partnering with a true wine expert and leading wine retailer such as Laithwaite’s Wine allow us to offer some of the great wines that they have scoured the globe sourcing to our fantastic customers.”

Laithwaite’s Wine was founded in 1969, when Tony Laithwaite drove a van of Bordeaux wine to England to share with family and friends. The company has since grown to become one of the UK’s largest home-delivery wine merchants.