Musgrave Budgens Londis has relaunched its own-label wine offering to reflect its combined retail strategy more effectively.

When Budgens and Londis merged, their own-label wine ranges were quite different and both had been slightly neglected, according to the company. It therefore saw the merger under the MBL banner as an opportunity to relaunch, starting with a focus on Old World wines.

"We decided to start with the classic European wines first as these were the key sellers in own label," said MBL wine buyer Christine Sandys.

The range will initially comprise 50 wines, starting with the launch of 15 entry-level French wines, priced from £3.59 to £4.99, which will be sold through both Budgens and Londis stores. Italian and Spanish will follow. "The French wines are not branded because they are all recognisable regions and wines," said Sandys.

"We may consider putting other ranges under a soft brand name."