Digital Wine Ventures reports WineDepot shipment records and revenue growth for June quarter

Beverage supplier Digital Wine Ventures (ASX: DW8) has reported new shipment records and further growth in revenues for online platform WineDepot during the final three months of the 2021 financial year.

The June quarter saw WineDepot ship a total 75,377 cases, representing a 445% increase on 13,840 cases recorded for the previous corresponding period and up 22% on the previous quarter’s total of 61,939 cases.

This was on the back of 32,850 orders received for the quarter – up 324% on the previous corresponding period’s total of 7,755 and increasing the average number of cases shipped per order to 2.33.

Direct-to-trade marketplace

Shipment numbers are likely to keep increasing over coming months in line with an increased volume of orders processed through WineDepot’s new direct-to-trade marketplace.

The marketplace platform was launched at the end of May, with Café Sydney being the first venue to place an order after it went live.

Digital Wine chief executive officer Dean Taylor said the initiative was functioning well and that trade buyers were responding “extremely positively”.

“Technology has brought vast changes in the way we produce wine and sell to consumers but supply chains and wholesaling are still plagued by inefficiency,” he said.

“Our marketplace was designed to enable winemakers and distributors to outsource the back end of their business [so they could] concentrate on the aspects of their business that deliver most value.”

Mr Taylor said the initial take-up had been “very encouraging” and provided an indication of demand for a new and updated wine distribution model in Australia.

“Considering the uncertainty and disruption associated with this wave of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, I am extremely proud of what we have managed to achieve so far,” he said.

Quarterly revenue

WineDepot generated total revenue of $1.02 million for the June quarter, representing a 33% jump on the previous quarter and up 274% on the previous corresponding period.

The revenue excludes a research and development tax refund of $129,000 received during the quarter and any contributions from the proposed acquisition of specialist wine and beverage logistics service provider Parton Wine Distribution.

A total 68 new suppliers were acquired for the three months to end June, taking the total number of active suppliers using WineDepot’s integrated sales, logistics and payment management platform to 375.

Online liquor licence

In May, Digital Wine Ventures received approval for WineDepot’s online packaged liquor licence, allowing it to sell and deliver wine to the general public.

The company will now be able to launch its invitation-only membership program known as “Insider Trading”, offering beverages at preferential prices to Digital Wine Venture shareholders, WineDepot staff, and employees of suppliers selling through WineDepot’s marketplace.

‘Insiders’ will also have access to events such as private tastings, dinners and masterclasses.

BNPL solution

Also in May, WineDepot partnered with global payment solutions provider Zip Co (ASX: Z1P) to provide customers with access to a buy now pay later credit solution in addition to other payment methods available on its platform.

The solution will provide smaller businesses with up to $3,000 interest-free credit, while larger operations can access credit lines of up to $150,000 on 60-day interest-free terms.

Zip will take responsibility for assessing applications, providing a credit line to users, managing collection processes and assuming all risks associated with payments made via its BNPL solution.

Amazon partnership

Last month, WineDepot entered into a partnership with Amazon to allow current suppliers on its platform to make their products available for sale on Amazon’s Australian site.

Under the terms of the deal, WineDepot will manage the storage, picking and packing of products and leverage Amazon’s network for the delivery of orders generated via the marketplace.