Three-month sales to end of September decline 6.2% to US$73.3m
Seth Kaufman has pledged to “turn the business around” at Vintage Wine Estates, having started in his new role as group CEO last month.
In results for the company’s fiscal Q1 to the end of September, announced this week, Kaufman, who transitioned from Moët Hennessy North America in October, claimed that VWE is “beginning to stabilise” after a tumultuous few months. Having been the target of several law firms in the US following a slump in profits in September last year, the company has posted a 6% sales decrease from its latest quarter.
The dip was blamed on a range of factors including the “timing of programming for the House of the Dragon brand, weak “digital marketing” sales and July’s divestment of The Sommelier Co, barely two years after acquiring the California-based wine-tasting organiser.
“I will be doing a deep dive across the business, our teams and our stakeholders to develop an in-depth understanding in-support [sic] of both immediate- and longer-term needs,” said Kaufman. “This effort will underpin my … priority to begin creating the comprehensive vision, strategy and execution plans necessary to secure a marketplace advantage and create enhanced value for consumers and shareholders.
“Given that I have only just begun these efforts, we are withdrawing previously provided guidance for fiscal 2024.”
VWE’s net losses for the most recent quarter totalled $15.1m compared to net profits of $1.5m in the corresponding period a year ago.
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