Jan 25, 2006
Stormhoek’s Secrets Revealed in Podcast
Nick let me out of the office yesterday to do a podcast with Johnnie Moore and James Cherkoff.
We all had a great chat and I got a great opportunity to talk about some of the basics of what we are thinking with regard to our wine, marketing and views on the future.
Here is the link.
5 Comments, Comment or Ping
john
Good to hear the story direct from the horse’s mouth as it were and have the details of the ethos fleshed out. Its intersting to be reminded that the spoken word reveals more than the written word on many occasions.
Two thoughts immediately resulted.
1) You’re clearly interested in the feedback to the blog yet there seem to be very few comments here. Do you all read all the comments about stormhoek on gapingvoid?
2) While I agree with you about the 800 wines in a supermarket, didn’t you answer the question yourself when you commented on the revelation that some people like Shiraz?
Jan 29th, 2006
Jason
Thanks John, yes, we generally do read all of the comments on Gaping void and as many as we can on other people’s blogs. As you noted, much of the conversation about Stormhoek takes place off this blog.
Lots of people seem to think that blogging needs to about discussions that take place on their blog, but we find that we get most of our ‘action’ on other peoples’, with Gapingvoid being just one of them. Search Technorati, for example, and you will see many hundreds of posts.
With regard to my comment on the size of store ranges, yes you have a point. But it is all about a sense of proportion. Would a couple of hundred wines suit the needs of 98% of the clientele? Probably. Is it necessary to have three SA Shiraz’s at 5.99, when one or two would do? You could employ the notion of the long tail, but with retail there is a real cost of stocking and distributing the slower moving items.
BTW, in the most extreme sense, one of the most successful retailers in Europe is Aldi. I think 6 or 7,000 stores worldwide. Their wine range was 19 items and I think that it is up to about 33 now.They sell millions of cases of wine a year. I believe somewhere between their model and 400 SKU’s is the right number. But that’s just my opinion.
Jan 29th, 2006
john
Barry Schwartz’s book The Paradox of Choice is a good read on that subject and I tned to agree with you.
FYI In the UK market Aldi, Netto and Lidl are perceived as pile em high, back to basic supermarkets focussed on the cost-conscious consumer. Having seen Stormhoek on a Sainsbury’s shelf at 6.99 I think your pricing does not correspond with their shoppers worldview. That’s not to say that these stores don’t sell good wine of course.
Jan 30th, 2006
Henry
I’ve been following the Stormhoek story from the Gaping Void blog since you started the blog.
I’ve looked for Stormhoek in Pretoria stores but I suspect you don’t sell Stormhoek in South Africa. Is there any way that I can buy a bottle or two in South Africa?
Jan 30th, 2006
graham knox
Henry of Pretoria,
I have some Stormhoek retailers for you.
(I hope the spelling is right)
Manuka
Bambino Liquor
Sinoville
Please send contact details to doolhof@mweb.co.za
And I’ll get the rep in your area to contact you.
Feb 10th, 2006