Naked Wines named online business of the year
Naked Wines has been named the UK’s Online Business of the Year at the National Business Awards 2011.
The company beat finalists including Lovefilm, Feather & Black and Entertainment Magpie.
The award, which was judged by a panel of 100 chief executives and senior directors from all over the country, was presented by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osbourne.
He said: “You embody the spirit of enterprise that must be at the heart of Britain’s economic future.”
The juding panel commented: “Naked Wines has created an innovative approach to putting suppliers in direct contact with the customer. It’s used the internet to revolutionise a tried and tested model to bring extra value to all stakeholders. Naked Wines is a great example of how the internet and e-commerce can revolutionise a market – as well as a business.”
Naked Wines founder Rowan Gormley said: “When we launched, we knew we had to create a game-changing model to make our mark, and by bringing customers and winemakers together through the power of the web, we’ve created 85 delicious new wines which otherwise wouldn’t exist – and stripped away a lot of the pretence and stuffiness typically associated with an age-old industry.”
Naked Wines has recruited more than 200,000 customers since it launched in December 2008. It has grown by more than 100% year on year and is on course to turn over £25 million this financial year.
