20 nya whiskyshoppar i England inom tre år

[Benke Olsson]

Enl. The Evening Times online kommer det att öppnas ca 20 nya whiskyaffärer i England inom en treårsperiod. Det är kedjan The Whisky Shop som utökar sin verksamhet med sikte på de södra delarna av U.K.

by Jonathan Rennie

Selling whisky in England is a dram fine idea!

A LAWYER is on a mission to refine the palates of drinkers south of the border.

Ian Bankier, head of the Glasgow-based group The Whisky Shop, has set his business the target of opening 20 new stores in the next three years, with the majority to be opened in England.

Last November, the chain, which employs 60 people and operates 10 Scottish stores, opened its first major English outlet at the Metro Centre in Gateshead, near Newcastle. And it recently opened a shop in York.

Ian said: "There is a growing appreciation of malt whisky across the UK, but especially in England, where we believe there is a significant under-developed market.

"At the moment, you are lucky if casual whisky drinkers down south know the names of any more than one or two malts - and one of those will be Glenfiddich.

"It will also be bought from a non-specialist retailer.

"We will be aiming to plug that gap by opening mainly in out-of-town shopping centres as well as in high streets across the UK."

Last year was a good one for the Scottish whisky industry, with global sales increasing by 4%, and Scotch malt shipments growing by 9%. In the UK, malt whisky sales were up 2%.

The Whisky Shop, which flung open its doors in 1992 with a store in Glasgow's plush Princes Square shopping centre, has also enjoyed strong returns.

Retail sales in January stood at £3.9million and the company remained in the black, despite investing more than £350,000 in infrastructure.

Comparative sales for this current year are expected to reach £5m.

These figures, allied to the expansion plan, won't have been overlooked by the retail industry's big hitters.

Ian said: "Supermarkets aren't a worry because we don't positioning ourselves as rivals to them.

"One supermarket recently carried a promotion selling Glenlivet for £14.99 a bottle.

"I can't imagine they could be making any profit on it

because that's cheaper than what we could buy it in for.

"If the same offer comes up again, I would encourage our customers to head round there and buy a bottle.

"We're here to encourage people to try different whisky. We stock 400 different bottles and customers can taste a sample or seek advice about how to drink it.

"A supermarket will only stock a few brands. We're chasing different custom."

The group is laying the foundations of a franchising strategy for the longer term.

Ian said: "We're pursuing intellectual property rights for the brand with a view to starting a franchise programme.

"Ideally, it would be good to expand the chain abroad, as there is demand, but the sale of alcohol in some countries isn't straightforward.

"We will deal with our UK expansion first."