Page 15 - IWSCReport2017

innovator
POSITIVE change
Judges were impressed by Morrisons’ work to refresh its wine range, including an exciting own-label offering
INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR:
MORRISONS
2017 has been a transformative year for UK supermarket Morrisons, with the IWSC rewarding its work to rejuvenate and refresh its wine range by naming it Innovator of the Year.
In May, the UK retailer expanded and refreshed its premium own-label The Best wine range, adding wines from South Africa, southern Italy and the south of France. The Best, which incorporates all of the wines formally carried under the Signature label, now comprises around 70 lines in total. New additions include a Verdicchio and Grillo, to “lift the premium end” in Italy, as well as a Primitivo sourced from San Marzano in Puglia. Morrisons has also leveraged its third Wine Festival to showcase a selection of around eight of its The Best 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.
“There’s been a lot of positive change,” said Mark Jarman, Morrisons’ senior trading manager for wine, at the retailer’s tasting earlier this year. “We’ve listened to what customers are 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.”
Another big change to the own-label range in the past year has been the introduction of the Workshop Wine
Company, a range of
Australian wines that offer an alternative to big brands. The
project has seen Morrisons
work directly to source and
produce wines with growers
and winemakers around the
blending table. Of the six
wines in the range, four are Workshop Bench blends priced at around £6, comprising a Viognier, Chardonnay, Merlot and Shiraz, and two are more premium – a single-vineyard Workshop Grenache-Shiraz and a McLaren Vale Shiraz at around £12.
Other regions that Morrisons has boosted include the south of France, to push the boundaries and expand out of the traditional areas, with new wines including Vinus by Paul Mas Clairette, a Pomerols Picpoul de Pinet and a Gérard Bertrand No Added Sulphite Chardonnay – one of three no-added sulphite wines to go on shelf this year.
Malbec was also extended beyond France and Argentina to regions including Chile and Patagonia to introduce breadth to the range, Jarman said. However, 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,” he said.
The retailer also added its first Fair Trade wine to its portfolio, an old-vine
Mark Jarman, Morrisons’ senior trading manager for wine
The Saviour Cinsault from Swartland, and acknowledged the potential to develop its range of own-brand Fair Trade wines further.
This widespread shake-up of its wine portfolio comes as Morrisons signed a deal to supply wines to convenience retailer McColl’s estate of 1,300 convenience stores and 350 newsagents following “a competitive process”.
Resurrecting the Safeway name for the wholesale deal, David Potts, Morrisons’ chief executive, said the new partnership was an example of how the company was leveraging its existing assets to access the UK’s growing convenience food market, with its foray into the world of wholesale helping to make the retailer into a “broader, stronger business”. db
14 winners’ guide 2017