San Francisco, March 9, 2021 – Wine.com, the nation’s leading online retailer, hosted its eleventh annual Industry Growth Summit for its worldwide wine and spirits suppliers and wholesalers. Over 1,100 registrants from 10 countries logged into Zoom to discuss Wine.com’s explosive growth during 2020 and make plans for 2021.
In their presentations, the Wine.com management team reported that revenue grew 119%, to over $300 million during 2020. Highlights included:
- Customers of all generations – Millennials and younger (of legal drinking age) grew to represent 39% of Wine.com customers last year, with Gen-X at 30%, Baby Boomers 26%, and older 5%.
- Virtual Experiences – Working with wineries and producers eager to showcase their wines and tell their stories, Wine.com launched Virtual Wine.com Experiences in April. Consumers can buy the wine in advance and tune in via zoom or YouTube to listen and taste along side winery visionaries and renowned celebrities. The company hosted over 50 events with more than 100,000 households viewing.
- Picked by Wine.com – Offering a completely personalized wine club, Wine.com launched Picked by Wine.com in the fall of last year. The customized subscription service puts real wine experts in charge of hand picking wines for customers based on their preferences and palate.
Michael Osborn, Wine.com Founder and Executive Vice President, shared how producers, importers and wholesalers can partner with Wine.com to improve the consumer experience with selection and discovery. “Our customers continue to show an insatiable demand for discovering interesting Wine & Spirits,” said Osborn, adding that more than 50,000 selections were purchased last year by their customers.
Attendees also heard an update from Ray Johnson, Executive Director of Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute and a presentation from Danelle Kosmal VP of NielsenIQ Beverage Alcohol Practice and Danny Brager, industry consultant and former Senior Vice-President of NielsenIQ Beverage Alcohol Practice. Brager stated, “Ecommerce is here to stay. Wine.com continues to grow, meeting consumers needs for selection and discovery."
The event concluded with Wine.com presenting its two annual Exemplary Supplier of the Year awards to the family winery, Schug Carneros Estates, and the wine & spirits portfolio, Taub Family Selections. Its annual Extreme Service Award, presented to an individual, was given to Sales Representative Mike Solarsh from Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits of New York. Mr. Solarsh raised the bar in communication between Wine.com and its suppliers.
“We are incredibly honored to receive this recognition from the Wine.com team, who have shown tremendous leadership and ingenuity in rising to meet the vastly increased consumer demand in the Ecommerce space over the past 12 months,” said Marc D. Taub, President & CEO of Palm Bay International and Taub Family Selections. “It was a truly collaborative effort within our organization, and together with theirs, that enabled us to pivot and embrace the opportunity that Wine.com presented us as a national partner. We are excited to take that momentum and support to the next level and could not be more bullish on Wine.com; the future is incredibly bright.”
Suppliers interested in working with Wine.com should contact trade@wine.com
About Wine.com
Wine.com offers selection, guidance and convenience not found in stores – helping customers discover the incredible world of wine with confidence. Live chat sommeliers provide friendly advice and customers receive unlimited shipping all year by joining StewardShip. Wine.com was recently named Wine Enthusiast’s Retailer of the Year. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.wine.com or download its app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to management’s plans and objectives for future operations, business prospects, and other matters. Any forward-looking statement made in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Wine.com undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described herein due to a number of risks and uncertainties. Wine.com cautions that these statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of Wine.com’s control and could cause future events or results to be materially different from those stated or implied in this press release, or to not occur at all. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.