Discounts can be classy

The summer sale season should have ended long ago. And yet, thanks to reports in the UK of August experiencing the sharpest shopper footfall in seven months and further reports that more than 5,000 companies will go out of business next year, it’s no surprise to see wine retailers eking out their too-good-to-refuse offers for as long as they possibly can.

We have reported on a number of frenetic discount initiatives since our launch of Retail on Monday. But let’s not make the mistake that discounting is exclusive to well-known brands on high street stores.

Now Britain’s oldest, and award-winning wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd is getting in on the discounting act. Not only has its Fine Wine Weekend notched up the busiest trading day ever at its Hampshire store, but the discounts were pretty classy too.

And here’s the evidence. Where else could you pick up a Vega Sicilia for £145 a bottle (down from £240)? Or how about a bottle of ‘86 Mouton Rothschild for £426 (down from £851)? Cult names aside, even the firm’s delicious own-label Champagne came in with a hefty 25% discount during its special weekend.

Seizing the opportunity to make discounting a pretty regal affair, director of wine at BBR, Alun Griffiths MW, said: “This is a great illustration of how we are combating the recession through aggressive retailing with special offers, even of very expensive wines as in this Fine Wine Weekend, working well to attract customers.”

Discounting is a tried and trusted method of keeping retailers’ trade moving but we would do well to remember that discounting is not all about shifting tired vintages or mopping up an oversupply of grapes but there are genuine, classy offers to be had in the UK, and BBR, if nothing else, demonstrates perfectly why the UK has a world-class reputation for its diversity of wine and wine retailers.

Jane Parkinson, 07.09.09