I’ve always had a soft spot for Oddbins. Ever since I worked there as a student in its Wimbledon store, I’ve remained strangely, perversely loyal to the maverick retailer, even as I’ve watched the heart and soul, great staff, and most of the decent wine disappear from its stores.
So the sale of the business to Ex Cellar (see p5) and the return of Simon Baile, the prodigal son of founder Nick Baile, has got to be good news. With morale at an all-time low at the Castel-owned offie, it certainly can’t come a minute too soon.
To be fair to the French winemaking giant, which bought the business from Seagram in 2002, it was something of a poisoned chalice. Supermarkets cut prices and embraced the New World – the territory Oddbins had made its own in the 1980s – as rents went through the roof. And the proliferation of supermarket-owned convenience retailers also provided harsh new competition, cutting off traffic generated by cigarette sales.
But the new owners also scored a lot of own goals. Even this week, a drinks promotion involving the Olympic rings was being hushed up (you heard it here first) after violating the licensing rules of the Olympic Games. And the management style, which had been loud and colourful, gave way to Gallic stiffness and sniffiness. The old retail theatre and graphic flair was replaced by fussy rules limiting the number and size of tasting notes. Investment wavered, communication with store managers evaporated, the old ‘parcels’ dried up. And however much it insisted it wasn’t simply a dumping ground for Castel-owned French wines, the perception was impossible to shift because, in the last six months at any rate, it was irrefutable. Bon chance Mr Baile. Bring the magic back.
So the sale of the business to Ex Cellar (see p5) and the return of Simon Baile, the prodigal son of founder Nick Baile, has got to be good news. With morale at an all-time low at the Castel-owned offie, it certainly can’t come a minute too soon.
To be fair to the French winemaking giant, which bought the business from Seagram in 2002, it was something of a poisoned chalice. Supermarkets cut prices and embraced the New World – the territory Oddbins had made its own in the 1980s – as rents went through the roof. And the proliferation of supermarket-owned convenience retailers also provided harsh new competition, cutting off traffic generated by cigarette sales.
But the new owners also scored a lot of own goals. Even this week, a drinks promotion involving the Olympic rings was being hushed up (you heard it here first) after violating the licensing rules of the Olympic Games. And the management style, which had been loud and colourful, gave way to Gallic stiffness and sniffiness. The old retail theatre and graphic flair was replaced by fussy rules limiting the number and size of tasting notes. Investment wavered, communication with store managers evaporated, the old ‘parcels’ dried up. And however much it insisted it wasn’t simply a dumping ground for Castel-owned French wines, the perception was impossible to shift because, in the last six months at any rate, it was irrefutable. Bon chance Mr Baile. Bring the magic back.
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