Closed Oddbins@Canonbury, London – soon to reopen as an ExCellar branch
It has now been confirmed that Simon Baile has bought five shops from Deloitte, the administrators of Oddbins. The sites are: Canonbury, East Sheen, Farringdon Street, Surbiton and Summertown, Oxford. Simon Baile told me that the new stores will trade as ExCellar, whose existing stores comprise Ashtead, Claygate, Fulham Road and Paris.
"Our first task is to get the shops, which have now been shut for a few weeks, trading again, to get a team together and get energy back into the stores. We intend to continue to do what we do best: to offer interesting wines from small independent growers." Asked whether they would need a new wine buyer, Baile replied: "No as we already have plenty of experience and intelligence at ExCellar Ltd."
Asked what level of investment would be required to restock and open the shops, Baile declined to discuss the company's internal finances.
Undoubtedly expanding the four-store ExCellar chain to nine shops – there were two when the Bail and Young Oddbins adventure began in August 2008 – will present a challenge with a need for investment. Initial investment to allow restocking of the shops. Although Baile's long term aim is to rely on selling 'interesting wines from small independent growers' sourcing these wine will take time. It also assumes that producers will be happy to supply again considering the Oddbins debacle.
To restock the newly acquired shops quickly is likely to mean relying at least in part on stock held in the UK and it will be interesting to see what terms suppliers will want and feel able to demand.
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See also news story on decanter.com
