Virgin Wines shrugs off market weak point as gross sales hit post-Covid excessive
- Virgin Wines revealed its half-year turnover broadly flatlined at £34.1m
- Naked Wines saw its sales shrink by 10.2% in the 13 weeks to 30 December
Virgin Wines outperformed the broader online drinks sector after enjoying its best December sales since the first Covid-19 lockdown.
The retailer, which was founded by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, revealed revenues rose by 9 per cent last month, thanks to bumper growth in its commercial channel and a recently launched partnership with Ocado.
Consequently, its turnover broadly flatlined at £34.1million in the six months ending 27 December, compared to £34.3million in the first half of last year.
Virgin said this proved it ‘significantly outperformed’ the online drinks market, which shrank by 5 per cent over the period.
Luxury giant LVMH reported also reported on Wednesday that its wine and spirits division saw organic sales slump 8 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, though this was slightly ahead of consensus.
Virgin also highlighted weaker consumer confidence and discretionary spending in the wake of the Autumn Budget.
Overall retail sales fell by an estimated 0.3 per cent last month, according to recent Office for National Statistics figures, partly due to subdued trading at supermarkets.
![Cheers: Virgin Wines has enjoyed its best ever December sales since the Covid-19 lockdown](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/12/94629213-14337193-image-a-5_1738153139912.jpg)
Cheers: Virgin Wines has enjoyed its best ever December sales since the Covid-19 lockdown
Virgin’s half-year pre-tax profits also soared by a fifth to £1.3million as it cut the cost of an average case by 10.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, its earnings before nasties remained at £1.6million even though the firm boosted investment in gaining new customers and its Warehouse Wines proposition.
Following the result, the London-based business expressed confidence that its full-year outturn aligned with current market forecasts.
It added: ‘There is also a clear market opportunity to consolidate our position as one of the UK’s largest and well-capitalised direct-to-consumer online wine retailers.’
Virgin Wines UK shares dipped 1 per cent to 30.2p by Wednesday lunchtime, taking losses over the past 12 months to around 20 per cent.
Fellow London-listed wine retailer Naked Wines saw its shares soar 16.6 per cent to 52.6p on Wednesday despite the firm telling investors that its sales shrank by 10.2 per cent year-on-year in the 13 weeks ending 30 December.
While revenue per member tipped up by 2 per cent, the Norwich-based group’s active membership declined by 10 per cent over the period.
Naked Wines is pursuing a turnaround spearheaded by its founder, Rowan Gormley, who returned as the company’s non-executive chairman in July 2023.
The business has struggled with weak demand, excess stock and inflationary pressures following the loosening of Covid-related restrictions, as well as an over-reliance on discounts and vouchers to attract new customers.
It has made significant progress on slashing inventory, which totalled £116million as of December, a £47million drop on the previous year.
However, Naked warned that further stock reductions could hit liquidation costs and lead to the firm’s earnings before interest and tax coming in at the bottom end of guidance.
The group posted a £5.6million pre-tax loss in the six months ending September, a drop from the £9.7 million loss the prior year.
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