Farr pulls in UK punters with fine wine sale

Farr Vintners has recorded an incredible response to its summer finewine sale.

The famed Bordeaux specialist sold £1m worth of wine in thefirst two days of discounts, citing the UK consumer’s desire for dealsas the primary reason for the sale’s success, as well as the greaterrange of wine put on price promotion.

“In terms of what was on offer we put a lot more into the sale than normally,” said Tom Hudson, director at Farr Vintners, “and there really have been a lot of orders.”

He added: “The UK market has definitely been quieter in 2009 but I think the sale has really captured the imagination of the UK customer base.

“The UK consumer is not in the mood to buy very expensive wine at the moment but if you can offer them a deal then they will take the plunge,” he added.

In terms of wine styles, Hudson did admit that Champagne sales have been “very sluggish” during the course of this year, and in general, he commented, “People want to buy wine they feel they can afford to drink – that’s the mood of the moment.”

Outside the UK Hudson noted that sales are “very high in Asia,” where Farr has a Hong Kong office. “It is undisputedly our biggest single market at the moment,” he said of the continent, and ascribed the disparity between British and Asian fine wine trends to the weak pound and stronger Asian economy.

Patrick Schmitt, 23.07.09