The Slurp Group bucked the general trend in UK retailing in Q1 2011 by reporting a strong start to the trading year. Q1 revenues were up 261% over the same period in 2010. Especially pleasing was the fact that revenues rose 94% over the traditionally strong Q4 2010 period. This underlines the fact that Slurp’s growth remains secular, and is not yet affected by seasonal variation. Q1 revenue growth maintained the 250% yoy rate seen in Q4 2010.
The Q1 2011 performance was bolstered by an excellent January in the Fine Wines (Slurpfinewines.com) division. Growth also continues to be driven by the company’s Asian division (Slurp.asia) under the energetic leadership of Managing Director Tom Chamberlain. Slurp.asia had a particularly strong March as our Hong Kong and Chinese customers replenished stocks following the Chinese New Year in February. The appointment of one of Slurp’s original founders, Nico Sunnucks, to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer has given the Group a much sharper global focus in its logistics processes as it continues its international expansion. Although no new brands were rolled out in Q1, a lot of background work was completed and a number of new brands (both domestic in the UK and overseas) will be appearing in the next two quarters.
Much of the growth in the UK retail arm (branded Slurp.co.uk) was the result of continuing innovation in the Slurp offering. In Q1 we swept away all restrictions on order size for our 1,500 ‘Slurp Express’ products offered for next day delivery. This change sets Slurp apart from almost all of its main competitors and has had a significant impact on the level of smaller orders – often for just one bottle.
Slurp continued to make numerous hires in Q1 2011 in support of its aggressive growth strategy. A new Financial Controller has joined the Group (Susan Lummis) and a dedicated Communications Group has been created under the leadership of Emily Acha Derrington. Slurp has also completed a major reorganisation of its IT division with a new outsourced team formed in the Indian capital of Delhi to give it the scope to increase its development substantially in the remainder of 2011.
Dr Jeremy Howard
Chief Executive Officer
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The Slurp Group again exhibited strong growth in Q4 2010, shrugging off the headwinds affecting much of Britain’s traditional retail sector. Revenue growth over Q4 2009 was an impressive 249%. Slurpfinewines.com continued its phenomenal growth and the new Slurp.asia platform began to make a meaningful contribution towards the end of 2010.
The quarter started with an extremely strong October, which saw revenue growth of 568% over October 2009. Early November saw the relocation of our office and duty paid logistics centre from Acton to the company’s new headquarters in Park Royal, W3. Only two weeks after the move the UK retail arm launched its first ever Groupon voucher offer. Groupon customers were offered a £30 voucher for use on Slurp.co.uk for just £9. Demand for the vouchers was quite remarkable, and the planned two day offer had to be curtailed after just 8 hours as Groupons sold rose past 4,000 on the first day. Website traffic also surged, with almost 25,000 unique visitors arriving over a 24 hour period. The slurp.co.uk site held up well, however, and saw only a marginal reduction in performance. November also saw the completion of our UK call centre with a team of dedicated wine experts now on call 8am till 7pm daily to deal with customer enquiries. In the quarter numerous new initiatives were launched: the new Slurp Gift Vouchers, a hugely expanded mixed case range and ‘Slurp Chat’ – which enables customers to chat direct with a wine expert on the screen – being just a few examples.
The physical launch of Slurp.asia (with the relocation of new regional Managing Director Tom Chamberlain to Hong Kong on 1st December) also proved a timely move. Demand from retail and trade customers in Asia buoyed demand in the final weeks of the year. There is no question that Slurp.asia is going to be a central pillar of the Group’s global expansion during 2011 and beyond.
In the UK December saw the expected seasonal rush. This year there was undoubtedly a strong positive influence on online sales as unusually cold air kept shoppers off the high street and in front of their screens. But the weather also brought challenges. Snowfall across the country caused significant disruption to many of our suppliers and to our main courier firm. Although Slurp’s main UK distribution hub was largely unaffected, deliveries to many parts of the UK were affected by the inability of couriers to get to many addresses. Staff had to work around the clock to ensure that the vast majority of Slurpers received their products in time for the big day.
January 2011 has started remarkably strongly and Slurp now embarks on a major recruitment drive to bolster its internal accounts and logistics teams, and to develop both its fine wine trading capability and its geographical reach.
ENDS.
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