Focusing on mail-order business (and therefore minimising overheads), including a long-established wine-club partnership with the Sunday Times and subsequent...
What is the secret of Laithwaite's success?
Friday 27 July 2018
Next year is the fiftieth anniversary of Laithwaite's Wine, the British wine merchant originally known as Bordeaux Direct. According to this FT article, they now sell from an inventory of 1,500 wines, of which 95% are made exclusively for them, and turned over £340 million in 2016. That makes them bigger than Berry Brothers and Rudd (founded 1698) and Justerini & Brooks (founded 1760), so how have they become so successful in the lifetime of the founder, Tony Laithwaite?
Become a member to continue reading
Member
$135
/year
Ideal for wine enthusiasts
- Access 287,194 wine reviews & 15,841 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
Inner Circle
$249
/year
Ideal for collectors
- Access 287,194 wine reviews & 15,841 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
- Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
Professional
$299
/year
For individual wine professionals
- Access 287,194 wine reviews & 15,841 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
- Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
- Commercial use of up to 25 wine reviews & scores for marketing
Business
$399
/year
For companies in the wine trade
- Access 287,194 wine reviews & 15,841 articles
- Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
- Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
- Commercial use of up to 250 wine reviews & scores for marketing
More Tasting articles
Tasting articles
Pleasure – and meaning – in the glass.
In reflecting on a year of tasting, I am fascinated by what...
Tasting articles
For background details on this vintage see Barolo 2022 – vintage report. Above, the Lazzarito vineyard with the Alps in...
Tasting articles
The second tranche of wines reviewed on Jancis’s recent West Coast road trip. Above, the new Overshine Collective, a group...
Tasting articles
Classic, affordable bordeaux made for pleasure and selected for an independent, reliable and regularly updated classification. For all that we’ve...
More from JancisRobinson.com
Free for all
De-alcoholised wine is a poor substitute for the real thing. But there are one or two palatable alternatives. A version...
Don't quote me
Jet lag, a bad cold, but somehow an awful lot of good wine was enjoyed.
This diary is a double...
Wines of the week
A breath of fresh air that’s a perfect antidote to holiday immoderation. Labelled Nasiakos [sic] Mantinia in the US. From...
Inside information
A pleasant surprise, showing more nuance and complexity than initially expected. Above, a view of Serralunga d’Alba.
2022 is widely...
Free for all
Demand, and prices, are falling. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. Above, the view from...
Wines of the week
A rosé to warm your winter, from £17.30, $19.99. Above, Albert Canela and Mariona Vendrell of Succés Vinícola.
The wind...
Inside information
Brunello farmers never knew what nature would throw at them next in 2025. Yet somehow they managed, even claiming that...
Book reviews
Six sleek guides for wine lovers wanting on-the-ground advice on what and where to drink and eat.
The Smart Traveller’s...