Dan Murphy’s has launched a new store concept in Sydney’s affluent Double Bay, which aims to educate and engage its upmarket demographic of local customers. The new concept is a trial designed specifically to suit the needs of Double Bay locals, and will not be rolled out to every Dan Murphy’s store. Rather than dedicated aisles, the 1027sqm store is broken into precincts, with each precinct lined with educational point of sale material, including indepth tasting notes and category
information.
A dedicated events section, complete with a television screen and tasting area, is set up in the ‘wines of the world’ precinct, which will be used to host events, master classes, and for experts to be able to sit down with customers and talk individually.
Dan Murphy’s regional store manager, John Neal, said Double Bay customers will be treated to some of the best knowledge in any Dan Murphy’s store, with a team of experts on hand to answer questions at all times.
“Not only have we got experts, but we’ve done a lot of work in our own team educating them, so they should be able to answer most questions,” he said.
Sampling stations have been built into each precinct, so customers can taste products as an adjunct to learning about them through point of sale and instore brand experts.
The piece de resistance of the store is a rare, full collection of Penfold’s Grange from 1951 to 2009, available for sale for more than $300,000.
“What we have on offer is a lot of wines that people probably have not seen before that are much more sought after and hard to get,” Neal said.
An extensive champagne precinct is the first thing customers see on entry, with a selection of 140 champagnes on display – more than double the varieties of any other Dan Murphy’s store. Part of this range are products from almost every champagne house in France.
Dan Murphy’s business manager and champagne specialist, George Radman, said the champagne precinct will be crucial at the Double Bay flagship.
“We are really focusing on trying to get our customers to go on that journey of champagne,” he said.
Vintec fridges are packed with old and rare products, with this range to increase to upwards of 200 SKUs in the future, encompassing everything from piccolos to a one-off 15l bottle of Bollinger, the only one of its kind in Australia.
“People are starting to really go from vintage, to grower, to rose, and the super premiums, so it’s a real focus for our business to take our customers on a really great journey, to experience some of the best champagne from around the world,” said Radman.
This story first appeared in Inside Retail PREMIUM issue 2001.
