tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post2734318505540547464..comments2024-03-11T03:24:58.582-07:00Comments on SVB on Wine: Cigarettes, Lot18, Fred Franzia and Wine InventoryRob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-85871632441572338662013-01-31T18:16:21.764-08:002013-01-31T18:16:21.764-08:00I feel like a Consumer Activist Reporter or someth...I feel like a Consumer Activist Reporter or something. This is Rob ....... signing off from Napa.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-31729845966813809972013-01-31T17:49:13.272-08:002013-01-31T17:49:13.272-08:00Hi Dolph,
Our Member Services team has encountere...Hi Dolph,<br /><br />Our Member Services team has encountered a few problems similar to yours, and they're working through them as quickly as they can. They'll be caught up and in touch with you shortly.<br /><br />Thanks for your continued patience, and please rest assured that your situation will be resolved to your satisfaction. <br /><br />EricErichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07536416651796961701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-25849084645209837192013-01-31T12:13:21.428-08:002013-01-31T12:13:21.428-08:00Ouch! That sucks. I'll ping someone there for ...Ouch! That sucks. I'll ping someone there for you and see if they will respond to your Blogger address directly. (One of the benefits for readers to log in with an identifier or .... maybe join as a member?)Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-64251505999028672792013-01-31T11:58:53.130-08:002013-01-31T11:58:53.130-08:00We bought a 6-month Tasting Room club membership i...We bought a 6-month Tasting Room club membership in December for over $400 (prepaid) and were informed in January that our membership was being cancelled and would be issued a credit to Lot18. The credit was for $10 for me and $20 for my spouse. For our $400, we received two bottles of wine, six small sample bottles, and $30 in credits to Lot18.<br /><br />Our call to Lot18 has gone unreturned. Poor customer service, poor value for the money. Dolphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15204258107527184901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-44181306952907151072013-01-29T11:19:15.991-08:002013-01-29T11:19:15.991-08:00The point isn't to suggest on-line retailers a...The point isn't to suggest on-line retailers are all going away. Discount sites, however will have a much higher degree of difficulty. In order to survive, Wine Retailers will have to use all the other P's of marketing, not just price. Selling a product attribute like quality is a good start, but its insufficient. Wine e-tailers also have to be great at CRM and getting the second sale, understanding and selling to client tastes, become expert moderators and advisors just like the fine wine shops. There are many technology tools out there to automate some of that, and some that have to be developed. W<br /><br />ine Spies might be a good site. Its great that they sell on quality. I don't know either way if they are expert moderators, have a robust CRM system, and focus on client desires.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-23447828248362468862013-01-29T11:12:02.859-08:002013-01-29T11:12:02.859-08:00It is precisely because The Wine Spies place an em...It is precisely because The Wine Spies place an emphasis on quality that I will sell my brands through them at all. The fact that their members often end up signing up for Club is the icing on the cake. And, what online wine retailer does NOT offer some sort of discount? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-2046046155164607032013-01-29T09:57:07.604-08:002013-01-29T09:57:07.604-08:00Anon #1 ... Flash sites are those who sell using p...Anon #1 ... Flash sites are those who sell using price (and maybe a little pressure to act under a 1 day offer but people see through that. Its not about selling quality. Quality wine can be sold on price too. Whats needed is sites who understand wine retailing that is a lot more than price.<br /><br />Anon #2 .., Must have been the wine, The OIV announced that world wine inventories are at a decades low point.... might have been 27 year low point IIRC. Less inventory = less wine to move in an erstwhile oversupplied market.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-32368327905995436622013-01-29T09:48:32.444-08:002013-01-29T09:48:32.444-08:00Its a sad one for me. I liked both founders and th...Its a sad one for me. I liked both founders and thought there was a good chance on TastingRoom, and with adjustments to strategy, an equally good chance on Lot18. They are adjusting finally and I hope its not too late. They can use this technology and do exactly what you are talking about in your reply. I'm wishing them success.Rob McMillan rmcmillan@svb.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396624790174552807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-3245582464748589562013-01-28T12:08:40.527-08:002013-01-28T12:08:40.527-08:00Correction: Inventory levels are at all time HIGHs...Correction: Inventory levels are at all time HIGHs, which is why deep discounting Flash sites are doomed; less available inventory and less desperate wineries = less wine for flash sites to sell.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-2682607265353307262013-01-28T12:06:02.840-08:002013-01-28T12:06:02.840-08:00I have to disagree that the model is non-sustainab...I have to disagree that the model is non-sustainable. I will agree that discounting as a platform is dead while inventory levels a at all-time lows, but outfits who focus on Quality (like The Wine Spies and to a lesser extent, Woot) will continue to flourish. Particularly because they provide wineries with the sort of broad reach that they could never have on their own. These marketers expose wine brands to a wide array of wine-drinkers, earning new winery-direct (DTV) customers at a fantastic rate. After a customer buys a wine through one of these venues, they must return to the winery (or a bottle shop) to buy more. My winery always sees an influx of Club sign-ups after a sale. Beware, though, of flash sites that deep-discount, control your pricing or portray your brand in a negative light. Good Flash sites are here to stay. The rest, like Lot18, seem to be a 'Flash in the pan'!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-941731830705031230.post-39626523137698670572013-01-28T10:54:29.954-08:002013-01-28T10:54:29.954-08:00I had the same feeling you did about the Lot 18 Ta...I had the same feeling you did about the Lot 18 Tasting Room marketing/combination/merger when it was announced. Lot 18 has been floundering since its inception and changes its focus almost monthly. Tasting Room was being shopped for a few weeks prior to the Lot 18 announcement but there was nothing to seel. Their "new" web site (November 2012 I am told) lost their entire focus as to the sampling and the monthly wine club style shipments of 6 sampler bottles that allowed you to select which wines you wanted to purchase. It was a site full of 750 ml bottles with no organization and almost no explanation of what they were selling. The original concept of a wine club that allowed you to sample the wines for a small charge and then get full bottles made a lot of sense and could have been marketed into a base of members that provided a base of sales that funded the business on a continuing basis. Now we have two losers combining into...? Good luck and long live the VC communityAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com