Digital Wine Ventures' (ASX: DW8) fast-growing distributor WINEDEPOT racked up 20 per cent volume growth between March and July, but CEO Dean Taylor is thirsty for further growth as the company adds a 9,000-square-metre warehouse in Adelaide to its portfolio.
The expansion into Edinburgh Parks will consolidate WINEDEPOT's South Australian operations, which have been spread across two sites following the acquisition of Wine Delivery Australia in late 2020. ,
The business-to-business wine supplier has attracted significant growth selling 30,468 cases last month - up by more than a fifth since March, when shipping volumes were at 20,311 cases.
In addition, 24 new suppliers have signed up to the wine distribution platform, adding to 375 at the end of FY21.
Taylor is optimistic about future plans, even with COVID-19 in the picture.
"Despite the uncertainty and disruption associated with ongoing lockdown restrictions in NSW and Victoria, we have managed to sign up more than 300 venues and generated pleasing levels of orders," he says.
"We are also re-assessing our go-to-market schedule with a view to launching in markets that are not locked down, such as Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth, earlier than expected."
The move comes just as the company has successfully completed the acquisition of Parton Wine Distribution, sealing an agreement that was made less than a month ago.
Featuring purpose-built wine bottling and storage, the new warehouse will help service customers from Parton that are seeking a logistics solution.
Customers can also now access WINEDEPOT on Vivino, which Taylor announced plans for back in April.
Integrations with eBay and Amazon are not expected to hit the market until August and September.
The company has also signed up to trade buyers and generated orders in Sydney in Melbourne, despite the current lockdowns.
"Fortunately for us, our business has significant exposure to the direct-to-consumer market which tends to spike from an increase in home alcohol consumption during lockdowns," Taylor said.
"The silver lining for us is that any delay in B2B growth is offset by increased activity across the rest of our platform.
"While the lockdowns have undoubtedly delayed our penetration of the Sydney and Melbourne markets, we are very comfortable with the growth rates achieved so far and excited about the potential to scale customer acquisition rapidly once the current restrictions lift."
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