Naked Wines has warned its investor-consumers that prices will rise in the aftermath of Brexit, amid a weak sterling and growing unease Britain's EU exit strategy.
Naked Wines, which is owned by Majestic Wine, has said that it will raise prices by 5% on half of its range from next month.
It blamed the weak sterling currency in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. Wines at Majestic will not be affected.
‘We have increased prices as little as possible,’ said CEO Rowan Gormley. He said the rise is ‘around 50p on some of our most popular wines’.
Naked Wines works by asking customers to fund independent winemakers in return for access to wines at wholesale prices.
Its move comes as former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said a so-called hard Brexit, in which the UK leaves the European single market, would mean significant prices rises for wine and food.
Naked Wines claimed in its letter that many UK buyers are asking winemakers to give discounts to make up for the Brexit currency hit.
It said that its price increase was a way to avoid this. ‘We are not the business to start a war with suppliers over price,’ it said.
Gormley told Decanter.com, ‘Earlier this year we lowered our prices and gave (our customers) the benefit of low exchange rates.’
Majestic wines are not affected at the moment, said spokesperson Gabby Clinkard.
‘Majestic forward-bought currency in advance of the referendum so our prices will not alter for the foreseeable future,’ Clinkard said.
‘But if sterling takes a sustained fall, everyone in the industry will have to make adjustments’.
Editing by Chris Mercer.
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