Perhaps none more so than Seckford Agencies that has arguably one of the most impressive premium South African ranges built up over the last 20 plus years. Here its sales director, David Cartwright, shares his personal as well as business reasons for wanting South Africa to do well in the UK wine market, and crucially looks at the huge untapped opportunities there are for its producers and brands to gain more market share and sales above £10 as he shares the highlights from a talk given to Vinpro and the South African wine industry in Cape Town last month.
Seckford Agencies’ David Cartwright shares his personal manifesto on how South Africa’s premium wines can succeed in the UK.
I have a confession to make. I have been having an affair for 26 out of the 38 years I have been working in the wine industry. A wine affair with South Africa. Not just its wines, but its people and its communities. A wine affair that means I have been travelling to South Africa at least once a year for those 26 years – and long may it continue.
To paraphrase the 70s crooners 10CC – I don’t like South Africa, I LOVE IT – to such an extent I even supported the Springboks in the last Rugby World Cup Final.
But I am not alone. Thankfully Pippa Woods, founder of Seckford Agencies, who I have worked with for the last 10 years, fell in love with South Africa ever since she started the business in 1999 and the bond she personally has built between Seckford Agencies and South Africa ever since.
Seckford Agencies started with one desk, one dog and one agency. The business plan was to supply independent merchants with all their wines from the New World from one agency, on one order. We represent wineries from all the southern hemisphere in our portfolio.
But it’s South Africa that makes up by far and away the majority of what we do and what we wish to be famous for. It’s the country, the people, and the wines of South Africa that Pippa and I love the most.
Over 20 years later we have 10 desks and five dogs with a portfolio of some of the finest wines from South Africa that we supply to retailers across all channels of the market, from Tesco to Harrods. The Seckford way is quite simple. To surround ourselves with fabulous, pioneering family-owned wineries. For each supplier partner we identify a route to market to meet their capability and expectations. We own the business and can make quick decisions – which is a huge asset for our clients and suppliers.
Over the last eight years, in a neat parallel with the rise of the Springboks, Seckford has been on an upward curve and our South African business has seen a 25% increase in FOB value per bottle, our volumes are up 35%, with value up a healthy 65%. We are proud of our achievements – but we are not complacent.
Trust and reliability
There are two key areas where we work hardest on to differentiate ourselves from other agencies:
- Firstly to build and maintain strong partnerships with our clients and suppliers.
- Secondly to ensure our customers are kept in stock.
Our standards entirely mirror those of our most demanding customers – getting it right first time, meeting deadlines, beating deadlines. We make it straightforward for our clients to trade with us. Trust is the currency we deal in – it is very hard to earn and much easier to lose.
We hear a lot about businesses “adding value” between themselves and their supplier or customers partners. But what does that actually mean? Here are some ideas:
- Provide great vintage reports and supply chain updates about what is happening at Cape Town Port,
- Get winemakers to make videos introducing wines and new vintages to existing and potential clients.
- Bringing buyers and store managers out to South Africa from our key retail partners so they can see the magic of South Africa for themselves.
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