Crowd funded online retailer, Naked Wines, has posted a 28 per cent sales lift during the festive trading season.
The Newport based e-tailer, which employs 45 people and has sold over two and a half million bottles of wine in 2015, launched a craft beer during the weeks before Christmas, capitalising on the growing Australian trend for artisan drinks.
As the global results were announced, Luke Jecks, CEO, Naked Wines International, was pleased to confirm 28 per cent sales growth during the festive period.
“In Australia, red wine out sold white wine by a 15 per cent margin during the 10 weeks of Christmas trading,” Jecks said.
“We sold double our normal volume of sparkling wine, showing that the Aussie tradition of celebrating with a glass of bubbles is alive and well. In red wine, Shiraz was the hero performer, followed by Cabernet Merlot blends.
“In white, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc Semillion were the two most popular bottles, followed by Pinot Grigio. Most excitingly, we sold 25,000 100ml cans of Adam Barton’s new beer in three weeks,” he added.
Made by accomplished South Australian Naked Winemaker, Adam Barton, and launched under the Rabbit and Spaghetti Brewing Company label, ‘The Fox’ is a hop and rye flavoured lager made with 100 per cent Australian Hops.
Naked Wines Australia was founded in 2012 by Luke Jecks, and drives investment from over 40,000 Angel customers in Australia to independent winemakers, in exchange for discounted prices on high quality, small batch wines. The company has built its business model around eliminating industry middlemen, enabling independent winemakers to produce high quality wine at accessible prices.
In addition to festive trading updates, Naked Wines Australia confirmed that $15 million was invested in the production of wine by independent Australian winemakers in 2015, up 55 per cent on 2014 figures.
“Raising $15 million is an amazing achievement for any start up,” Jecks said. “However, as a crowd funded business, the funds that we raise from Angel supporters are invested back into independent winemakers all over Australia. Reaching this kind of critical mass means that we can really make a difference in the battle for the Australian wine industry. We believe in a better future for Aussie winemakers.”
This story first appeared on Inside Retail’s sister site, Internet Retailing.
Want more Inside Retail? Subscribe to Inside Retail Weekly now and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.
