Virgin Wines sees "loyal customers" join its Wine Bank

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 10 April, 2014

Virgin Wines says strong customer loyalty has encouraged 40,000 of them to join its Wine Bank Scheme, which offers customer 20% discount.

Managing director Jay Wright told harpers.co.uk that take-up for the scheme is strong, with "most loyal customers on it".

"There's no reason not to be on it, as it gets you a much better price. You can also take a payment holiday, or take your money back out. You can use it however it suits you, or just make ad hoc payments. That money is separate from the rest of the business and totally ring-fenced," he added.

Wright also said the Virgin brand helped attract a younger customer base, averaging between 30 and 50 years old, and its attitude in dealing with them boosted customer loyalty. "It's partly the way we connect with our customers and our business partners. Often people don't want to do what their parents did - they want to buy wine in a fun way. We're also not snobby or hierarchical in any way. We take wine seriously, but we don't take the jargon seriously."

This strong loyalty allows the company to go for lesser-known countries and regions, and still have commercial success because of the "trust" it has with its customers.

"We focus on newer styles out of older countries to stay fresh and up to date - so we concentrate much less on traditional Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone.

"We also look at places that haven't been so popular for wine - such as Romania. It's been very popular recently and represents very good value for money. Previously this wouldn't have sold well, but that's where the trust comes in. We rated them very highly. We like to go off the beaten track and find something that will surprise our customers."

Virgin Wines turned over £35 million in the year to June 2013, and is aiming for revenues of £50 million within five years.

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