Backing the best winemakers, while successfully challenging the status quo

“For me, the measure of success is much more harnessing the platform we’ve got – the community of wine lovers and winemakers and really changing the structure of the way the wine industry works. If we take care of that, I think the valuation side of things will take care of itself just fine.”

Nick Devlin, CEO

A slide in a recent () investor presentation summarises the incredible progress the company has made since the onset of the pandemic.

It charts the change in wine ‘channel share’ from 5% online increasing to 20% in the US, revealing there had been a 20-year shift in buying habits in just one month.

You could make a joke about America drinking its way through lockdown, but that might be considered poor taste given the human toll the virus has taken.

Commercially, though, there is no doubting that some businesses are better equipped to withstand pressures of the new world in which we live – and prosper.

Naked is one prime example. It stands out alongside the other notable online success stories – Boohoo, ASOS, Ocado.

But there are other elements too. It is asset-light and, for what is ostensibly a retail business, it has a high rate of repeat business.

Model merits closer inspection

The Naked model merits close inspection for it is shaking up the international wine industry from grape to glass.

This is because the company invests in winemakers directly and will pledge to take a certain number of bottles based initially on how it thinks the red, or white will sell.

This relationship between winemakers and the retailer works on several levels.

It allows the former to do what they do best – concentrate on the viticulture.

So, there’s none of the stress associated with marketing and distributing a new product, for example. Naked takes this on.

The company, meanwhile, gets access to exclusive, high-quality wines, which in turn results in quality and value for money for discerning customers.

In the US, where the market is subject to oligopoly pricing, the direct to consumer approach has brought real competition as it has stripped out costs from the supply chain.

Customers tend to be introduced to the Naked concept via promotions, which then leads on to them becoming a regular subscriber called an ‘Angel’.

Bringing wine lovers and winemakers together

By depositing £20 a month in their account Angels are also helping support independent winemakers.

“At Naked we bring together wine lovers – we’ve got over 600,000 members globally – and some of the world’s best independent winemakers,” explains chief executive Nick Devlin.

“We use the funding that we have from our Angels, as we call our members, and that gives us a pool of money that we’re able to invest into creating exciting projects with some of the world’s best independent winemakers.

“They are passionate about making wine, and with us, they’re not worried about selling wine, they’re not worried about marketing.

“They don’t have to work with a distributor, the wine doesn’t go through distribution and retail. All of this means you get a great quality bottle of wine, you know who made it, and you pay less for it.”

Growing strongly

If you think this is some online cottage industry, think again. The platform boasts 211 winemakers in 19 countries producing 1,000 different wines. Stock is held in eight distribution hubs around the world.

As Devlin points out, Naked Wines now has more than 600,000 Angels, while the repeat customer/sales retention rate is a commendable 83%.

And it boasts a database with more than 23mln (I repeat 23mln) reviews. That knocks the Sunday Times wine section into a cocked hat.

Last year Naked generated over £200mln in revenues. And, as mentioned above, the stay-at-home culture engendered by the pandemic has only accelerated growth.

The company in August said it expected turnover to increase by at least 40% this year….