Sainsbury's doubles number of fine wine stores
Sainsbury’s is doubling the number of branches offering a fine wine range following a surge in demand.
The Classic Selection will be on offer in 120 stores by the end of the month, the retailer said, following a 47% increase in sales over the past year.
Senior wine buyer Julian Dyer said: “Our fine wine sales figures indicate that for some of our customers, a top quality bottle of wine is a luxury pleasure they don’t want to forgo, even in a recession.
“They might not be dining out so much, but they are now recreating the dining experience at home and turning to Sainsbury’s Classic Selection to provide a special bottle of wine for such occasions.
“On the other hand, we’ve also seen increases in sales of bag-in-box wines, which we have reduced in size from 3-litre to 2.25-litre, suggesting that our customers are happier buying less in each shop but shopping more frequently to spread the financial outlay.”
Sainsbury’s also said that its House range, launched in May 2010, was performing well and that the Taste the Difference selection was the fastest growing part of the wine category.
