Morrisons boosts premium own label and broadens offer

Morrisons has extended its premium own-label The Best wine range, as well as refreshing the portfolio with new wines from South Africa, Southern Italy and the South of France.

“There’s been a lot of positive change,” Morrisons’ ‎senior trading manager, wine sourcing Mark Jarman told db at the retailer’s tasting this week. The majority of the changes have been to wines in the main estate, but there were “some embellishments” online, he said.

“We’ve listened to what the customer is looking for, they want new and interesting styles, [so we have] developed new countries and price points. We’ve opened [the range] and brought in wines across the board.”

The retailer has also boosted its range of its premium own label wines, The Best range, after seeing strong growth of the revamped Best range across all categories, as reflected in the latest Kantar Worldpanel data which saw the retailer’s total sales up +2.2% in the 12 weeks to 23 April 2017. This range now incorporates all of the wines formally under the wine Signature label and comprises around 70 lines in total.

“The Best range is one part of what we do, but it is a very important area for us as an opportunity to demonstrate how we work with suppliers and source great wines at exceptional value for money,”  Jarman explained. “Wine has seen a massive increase in The Best sales over the past 12 months, so there is significant consumer confidence in the offer, and people are willing to try new things.”

Morrisons is using its third Wine Festival, now in stores, to showcase a selection of around 8 its Best range wines to “bring the range to life”, merchandising these with meat and other offers, and offering tastings and cheese matching in store for the first time.

Jarman added that The Best was set to become a more important part of the offer over the long term, and the team was planning to add 3 or 4 higher priced wines over the next sixth months. Priced at around the £12-13 price points, this would be a step up from the majority of The Best range which predominantly retails between £5-8.   

New additions to premium own label range now on shelf include a more premium Verdicchio (RRP: £6.25) and a new Grillo, to “lift the premium end” in Italy, as well as Primitivo, sourced from San Marzano (RRP: £6.75).

Jarman added that the team had been particularly pleased with the 2016 Italian whites, which were “showing well in terms of fruit expression and varietal typicity” while the range of red wines from the South of Italy had been extended with “supple and fruity styles that appeal to our customers”. These included a Chianti Classico under the Best range (RRP: £7.00) from San Felice and an online exclusive, a Nipozzano Chianti Riserva Vecchie Viti (RRP: 24.00).

Another big change to the own-label range over the last year has been the introduction of the Workshop Wine Company, a range of Australian wines that offer an alternative to big brands. The project, which rolled on shelf this year, sees Morrisons working directly to source and producer wines with growers and winemakers around the blending table. There are six in the range, four Workshop Bench blends priced at around £6, comprising a Viogner, Chardonnay, Merlot and Shiraz, and two more premium additions, a single vineyard Workshop Grenache-Shiraz and a McLaren Vale Shiraz retailing for around £12.

Jarman explained there were a number of areas where this concept had been developed further over the last year, primarily with the launch of Asado Club’s Malbec, which borrows cues from craft beer to appeal to a younger consumer, and the new Chilean Head Honcho brand, which is sourced by Morrisons and blended before being shipped in bulk and bottled in the UK in order to pass savings onto our customers. The range, which has sold 600,000 cases, worth over £1.8m in sale since launching in December, has been extended with a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a new limited parcels Shiraz being planned for 2017.

Other areas that Morrisons is boosting is the South of France range in order to push the boundaries and expand out of the traditional areas. New wines include a new Vinus by Paul Mas Clairette (RRP: £8.00), a Pomerols Picpoul de Pinet (RRP: £6.50) as well as a Gerard Bertrand No Added Sulphite Chardonnay (RRP: £8.50), one of three no added sulphite wines to go on shelf.

“We’ve seen lots of success as people have the propensity to try new things,” Jarman told db.

But it is South Africa that has seen the biggest refresh, with around 50-60% of the range new since last year.  “The objective was to reflect the genuine character that South Africa is capable of in terms of variety, regionality and also the new breed of iconic winemakers, such as Duncan Savage,” Jarman said.

Mark Jarman, Morrisons’ senior trading manager, wine sourcing

This includes a Zalze Chenin Blanc (RRP: £7.00) to showcase a “significant variety from Stellenbosch”, “lifestyle brand” Surfer’s Path Sauvignon Blanc in collaboration with Duncan Savage (RRP: £8.00), a Walker Bay Sauvignon Blanc (RRP: £9.00) from KWV, and a Granite Earth white blend (RRP: £8.50), to showcase “the complexity of Swartland”.

Jarman denied it was a case of “good, better best” tiering, but a way to show the different expressions of South Africa. “They each have very specific roles in the range,” he added.

The retailer has also added its first Fair Trade wine, an old vine The Saviour Cinsault (RRP: £7.00) from Swartland, saying there was further opportunity to develop own brand with Fair trade. “But we put quality first,” Jarman added. “If the quality is appropriate, we will do it.”

Malbec has also been extended beyond France and Argentina to introduce breadth to the range, Jarman said. “With the strength of Malbec, we’re seeing an opportunity for wines other than those from Argentina, so we are showcasing Malbecs from Chile, including a Zarper Gran Reserva Malbec (RRP: £8.00), and a Koyle Malbec (RRP: 12.00)]. We’ve also introduced a Vinalba Malbec from Patagonia, so that is a bit of difference in terms of country and region.”