Comments on: When small wine shops are great–and when they disappoint

By: paula william

paula william — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 17:46:23 +0000

Dear Sir / Madam.

We wishes to purchase Wines,Champagne

Provide a quote and advise payments options?

Your response will be appreciated.

Best regards.

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 23:54:15 +0000

‘lazy’ customers paying full ‘chump’ prices at small wine shops? Clearly you have never owned a small retail business. Better the shop owner work 85 hours a week and live on beans so you can pay him the same price you’d pay Gotham Wines here on the UWS? Harsh from the ‘academic’ writing his blog.

Also – ‘poke around’ NYC to save $8.00? That’s funny! Where do you live?

By: Roger Sleigh

Roger Sleigh — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:29:24 +0000

Totally agree with you. It’s vital that small independent stores survive otherwise all we are left with is the large multiples. But to do so and overcome the undoubted attraction of the one-stop-shop offered by the multiples, indies must differentiate themselves, most easily by range and service. They have to charge more per bottle, there is just no way round that if they are to thrive, that level of service that we enjoy isn’t free, but lets not bite the hand that feeds !

By: MTO

MTO — Fri, 14 May 2010 21:21:15 +0000

This may be too late in the game for the responding consumers to take note, but many times distributors cut pricing for large orders. Big boys like Total Wine, CostCo and the like easily have the moola at-hand to purchase say, a pallet of Languedoc red, and they most certainly will get the best price in town. Even the local grocery store gets Loire Sauvignon Blanc at 8.99 while we struggle with 13.99 pricing because they can afford to commit to a much larger number of cases up front. Pity party for small retail shops? Nah, just a little perspective.

By: Thirst Wine Merchants – Fort Greene, Brooklyn | Dr Vino's wine blog

Thirst Wine Merchants – Fort Greene, Brooklyn | Dr Vino's wine blog — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:13:32 +0000

[...] by RSS, or daily email. Thanks for visiting! A couple of months ago, we had a discussion about what makes a great, independent wine shop. Here’s a bit more about one of excellent example of a neighborhood shop: Thirst Wine [...]

By: The Wine Mule

The Wine Mule — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:51:47 +0000

“But still, as a fairly knowledgeable wine enthusiast, I do sometimes find the prices at some neighborhood small shops to be quite high.”

Obviously, you haven’t been in our neighborhood.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:16:07 +0000

Thanks for the writeup. Very helpful.

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:37:41 +0000

Hi Dan,

Yes, that is considered standard. But there are many differences across states–Ohio, for example, has a state-mandated minimum 33% markup for all wines. That means a price-competitive Champagne can’t be marked down at year end, for example.

States also apply discounts for bulk discounts differently. So some wines may have a greater profit margin even if they still are at suggested retail because they were purchased with bulk discount.

If a store can get an exclusive on a wine, then they might be able can charge a higher markup.

So even within a store, wines can have different margins. But a 50% markup from the initial wholesale price (“frontline”) is considered the standard.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:34:31 +0000

As someone who is not in the industry, is the 50% markup over wholesaler prices a pretty reliable metric for retail store pricing? Can I assume that if a wholesaler offers a bottle for $10, that the retail store would then be offering it for $15? Does this 50% markup work the same at various price points? ($10, $40, $75)

Thanks for the education….

By: Nwsidewino

Nwsidewino — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 03:36:23 +0000

I sell for a small wholesaler in Chicago and an tell you that most small shops do not go over the 50% mark up except for an unnamed franchise wine store. The problem is when the buy national brands that the big stores get great deals on. The small shop is not gouging, they just are not buying smart. I want my customers to only be a $1 or $2 higher than the big chains on a wine under $15. That wont happen with the large wholesalers since most of their reps don’t have a clue what the big guys are selling it for and they are trying to get as many placements to meet their pumped up goals.

By: Gary

Gary — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:25:48 +0000

Tyler I agree with all of your points. My experience is that many of the smaller wine shops do not pay enough attention to price and is a major reason they fail.

For the smaller shop, relationship, service, I have never mind paying a little above what the same wine would be at a larger retailor, but not much. One would hope though that the majority of wines are a little exclusive to the shop and off the beaten path.

There is a good retail shop near my home, but I don’t buy much there because I have seen too many times wines that were sold for an unreasonable mark-up. In fact a cava that I buy for $9 was $14 in the small retail store.

Big turn off.

By: Enoteche che passione! « CASA PORCIATTI WEBLOG

Enoteche che passione! « CASA PORCIATTI WEBLOG — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:54:23 +0000

[...] 27, 2010 di Riccardo Porciatti Segnalo questi due bellissimi post apparsi su Dr. Vino e The Pour dove si parla delle piccole enoteche. Bravi!! Su uno di questi post ho trovato il link al [...]

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:41:21 +0000

I frequent two outstanding small local shops in Baltimore; they both provide outstanding service and an interesting selection. They both do a $100 case of the month that is thoughtfully chosen to match the season and expand the palate.

But when I’m going to stock up on wine that I know is going to be pricey ($35+ a bottle) I head out to the burbs to the wine ‘warehouse’, where the service is still good , but the knowledge isn’t quite the same as the local shop… The prices are 10-40% less than the local shops, before I add in the regular coupon.

I know the local places are in higher rent areas, and I know they aren’t pushing the volume of the warehouse guy, but when I paide $12 for something at the local shop that I saw on sale for $6.99 at the warehouse, I’m going to buy more at the warehouse.

By: The Wine Mule

The Wine Mule — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:03:12 +0000

If I had a dollar for every customer who comes into our ship asking “Do you ship?” I’d be a rich man. We ship where we’re allowed to ship, which is not very many places. So yes, we are definitely hurt by shipping restrictions.

By: Important wine update from Cougar Town | Dr Vino's wine blog

Important wine update from Cougar Town | Dr Vino's wine blog — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:49:11 +0000

[...] Ms. Crow.” Couldn’t she bring her glamor to another part of the wine biz, such as an independent shop owner? The cougars have to buy their Merlot from somewhere, after all. Permalink | Comments (1) | [...]