Berry Bros & Rudd sees strong online sales over Christmas as it maintains growth

Strong online sales have helped Berry Bros & Rudd achieve a sparkling Christmas, the fine wine merchant has announced, with online sales now double what they were in 2019.  

Meanwhile sales on its online fine wine exchange, BBX, also rose, up 25% on last year’s figure.

However there was also strong in-person sales and despite footfall being affected by the latest Covid variant, the shop at 63 Pall Mall saw order up by 69% on last year’s (admittedly muted) figures.

Overall sales were up 2% on last year across the business, or up by a third compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019, with the number of customer also growing by 38% over the two years.

In adds to a strong year for the UK’s oldest wine merchant, which has seen soaring demand for en primeur sales in the last 18 months, while the subscription to its wine cellar business rose by more than a third.

In terms of wines, sparkling fine wines dominated the best sellers list, with its Berry Bros. & Rudd Own Selection Champagne Mailly Grand Cru seeing sales increase rise by 62% year on year.  Other stars of the season included a rare 78-year-old bottle of Macallan and an 18-bottle case of 2017 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, with Champagne Leclerc Brillant, Chablis’ Domaine Sebastien Dampt and Italy’s Grattamacco proving popular. The oldest fine wine or spirit sold was a 1915 Armagnac Nismes-Delclou

Chief executive officer Emma Fox said the team had worked “very hard to fix the basics for customers” – notably improving its online operation.

“We are pleased to see the results coming through in such strong online sales for this period and are delighted to have maintained the overall growth momentum across the business from the last two years,” she said.

“We hope to continue this growth as we begin the Burgundy 2020 En Primeur campaign this week. We anticipate continued demand for the new releases and high interest for our fine wine offer.”