Naked Wines
Encyclopedia
Naked Wines is an online wine retailer founded by Rowan Gormley
which launched in the UK on the 1st December 2008.
's former right-hand-man and serial-entrepreneur Rowan Gormley
. Rowan's previous ventures include setting-up and running Virgin Direct (now Virgin Money), the Virgin One Account, and Virgin Wines. When leaving Virgin Wines in the summer of 2008, his 15-strong management team followed suit to become Founding Partners at Naked.
Naked Wines was named in the Startups 100 awards in 2010 as one of the UK's most innovative, inspiring and ground-breaking new companies which included the likes of Huddle (software)
& Zoopla
among others.
's wine partner. A dedicated wine section was added to the Jamie Oliver website with wine recommendations from Jamie Oliver. Recipes on Jamie Oliver's website are also paired to wine matches available from the Naked Wines website.
Customers build a profile, find drinking buddies, upload content and integrate their ratings with their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
This model was then changed to accommodate a more directed approach in the form of MarketPlace. This system allows one Naked Winemaker a week to pitch his wine to the Naked Wines customer base at a discounted price. The consumer then chooses if he or she wants to bid on the wine or not, and once it exceeds a minimum volume the deal is on and the wines will be shipped no matter what, but there is a maximum that can still be reached of pre orders. Like in Advance Bookings, the wine isn't delivered the next day, but at a pre determined date some time in the near future. Naked Wines takes a commission of 10% in this process.
Rowan Gormley
Rowan Gormley is a South African born entrepreneur. His latest venture is Naked Wines which launched in December 2008.-Early life:Gormley studied at Selborne College East London and the University of Cape Town...
which launched in the UK on the 1st December 2008.
Launch
The company was founded by Richard BransonRichard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
's former right-hand-man and serial-entrepreneur Rowan Gormley
Rowan Gormley
Rowan Gormley is a South African born entrepreneur. His latest venture is Naked Wines which launched in December 2008.-Early life:Gormley studied at Selborne College East London and the University of Cape Town...
. Rowan's previous ventures include setting-up and running Virgin Direct (now Virgin Money), the Virgin One Account, and Virgin Wines. When leaving Virgin Wines in the summer of 2008, his 15-strong management team followed suit to become Founding Partners at Naked.
About the business
Naked Wines is an online market for wine which supports independent winemakers from around the world. It invests in the winemakers in return for preferential prices, which it passes on to its customers. Its website allows customers to talk directly to the winemakers and other customers via a social networking platform. Customers can become 'Angels' for winemakers, which means paying a monthly subscription fee towards the next buy, but also earning a 33% rebate on all orders in exchange for their support; this rebate is in the form of a credit against future purchases, though is called "CashBack".Naked Wines was named in the Startups 100 awards in 2010 as one of the UK's most innovative, inspiring and ground-breaking new companies which included the likes of Huddle (software)
Huddle (software)
Huddle is a web-based team collaboration and project management application developed in the UK.Huddle is privately held and funded by Eden Ventures and Matrix Partners.-Features:...
& Zoopla
Zoopla
Zoopla is a property and house prices website that provides information such as sold house prices and current value estimates for all 27 million residential properties in the UK.-Product features:...
among others.
Jamie Oliver
In July 2009 Naked Wines was announced as Jamie OliverJamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
's wine partner. A dedicated wine section was added to the Jamie Oliver website with wine recommendations from Jamie Oliver. Recipes on Jamie Oliver's website are also paired to wine matches available from the Naked Wines website.
Social Networking
Naked Wines is the first UK wine retailer to bring a social networking side to its retail store.Customers build a profile, find drinking buddies, upload content and integrate their ratings with their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
MarketPlace
In March 2010, Naked Wines rolled out its Airline Pricing model at the 2010 London International Wine Fair which it named Advance Bookings. The model, which offers customers huge savings by ordering their wine in advance is segregated into 5 periods where they can buy it, it being cheaper the sooner its bought and is powered by huge investment from Naked Wines backed by its customers.This model was then changed to accommodate a more directed approach in the form of MarketPlace. This system allows one Naked Winemaker a week to pitch his wine to the Naked Wines customer base at a discounted price. The consumer then chooses if he or she wants to bid on the wine or not, and once it exceeds a minimum volume the deal is on and the wines will be shipped no matter what, but there is a maximum that can still be reached of pre orders. Like in Advance Bookings, the wine isn't delivered the next day, but at a pre determined date some time in the near future. Naked Wines takes a commission of 10% in this process.