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Published:  23 July, 2008

Alistair Viner, Wine & spirit buyer, Harrods, London. Interview: Josie Butchart

Harrods Ltd, Knightsbridge London SW1X 7XL Tel: 020 7730 1234

Alistair Viner joined Harrods in 1995, initially in the tea and coffee department, before moving over to manage the wine and spirit department after 10 months. After starting out in catering, his first job in wine was with Les Amis du Vin. A spell of travel followed, and he spent two and a half years running a wine shop in Cape Town before returning to the UK and joining Harrods. He was appointed Harrods wine & spirit buyer in September 2000.

What are the difficulties when buying wine for a shop like Harrods? Probably trying to find the best value and trying to get it across to the consumer that we are actually not that expensive. We have wines at all price points and, although quality is first and foremost, many people comment that we are actually no more expensive than the shop down the road. Our customers are actually quite canny, particularly in the wine department, and they like to shop around. They do seem to notice and comment on prices.

What is your entry-level price point? It varies; 6.50 is really our starting point, but we will normally have something on promotion at 5.95.

Is the average Harrods customer buying everyday wines or something special? We have a very big mix, but the average spend is quite high as it is always thrown by people buying very expensive Bordeaux or Burgundy. We did a Spanish promotion earlier in the year and the majority of the wines we sold cost 10-20. While 10-20 might be everyday drinking wine for some of our customers, the country's average is obviously a lot lower.

Are there any trends at the moment? Nothing really stands out, but the average spend per unit seems to have gone up over the last year and a half, so it would appear that people are looking for better quality and less quantity.

How much has it gone up? Oh, quite a lot. We are close to an average of 27 to 30 and it used to be below 20. The promotions we are doing give people the opportunity to taste wines that are more expensive and they are possibly being encouraged to buy that special bottle of wine on a more regular basis, rather than buying a larger quantity at the lower end of the market.

Have you noticed any corresponding decline in volumes? Yes, that's the flip side. We seem to be doing reasonably well though, so the fact that people are spending more is great. It's encouraging that in a global market that is a bit unsure at the moment, customers are still coming in prepared to spend money on wine.

How are sales of your own-label wines? We get a lot of people buying our own-label because it shows a true representation of a style of wine or region. There are certain producers who just won't do an own-label for you, although some of our own-label wines from Bordeaux, for example, are made by Loville Barton and Pichon-Lalande, so there are some good names in there. It serves two purposes: you have your entry-level own-label and your top-end own-label, but we sell very little over a certain price, apart from Champagne. Over about 15 it is far more selective: people who spend that much don't want the label to say Harrods. Below 15 you get a different mentality and people want something that says Harrods.

How much impact do events such as Made in Italy' have on wine sales? They have a very big impact. We did an Italian promotion last year as well and the top-selling wines were not wines that you would regularly come across: a top-end Fruili white was one of the best sellers, as well as a top-end red from Umani Ronchi in the Marches region. People do take a shine to the more unusual wines. What I am trying to do with events like this is take away the snobbism of wine and make it user-friendly. These events are not stand-up, formal seminars - they are about enjoying the wines.

How did you select the six regions you are focusing on with Made in Italy'? It's tied in with what the rest of the food hall is doing as well. The intial project was based on just four regions (Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Lombardy and Campania) and then it became six, by including Tuscany and Piedmont. In many ways it would have been more focused just to do the four regions, but I've never turned down the chance to do a promotion with Tuscany and Piedmont because they are a big draw and people know the wines.

What is the main difference between the wines for this festival and your usual Italian listings? The wines are more unusual because although these are all large wine-producing regions, apart from Tuscany and Piedmont they are not foremost in people's minds. I wanted to try and get a good cross-section of wines, at different price points, to try and cover the different styles from each region. But if you have too many wines from one area it can actually dilute sales, so I've tried to find between 11 and 15 wines from each of the six areas.

Are you ever surprised by the amount people spend? There have certainly been some fairly large sales that are well over 10 grand, so it happens once in a while. I wish it happened more often! I've got selling in my blood, so the more I can sell the better. Obviously, I'm mainly doing the reverse now, but in many respects I am selling Harrods to the supplier.