Accolade Wines has nailed its strategic colours to the mast as “luxury” business House of Arras moves to new owners.
Back in May, private equity-owned Accolade put the Tasmania-based House of Arras up for sale. The Hardys brand owner said at the time that the move was linked to its transition to a “capital-light model and allows the company to redeploy capital to invest in its brands and growing sales”.
Late last week, Mornington Peninsula’s Handpicked Wines was confirmed as the acquirer. The company, which already owns five vineyards across Australia, will pay an undisclosed fee for House of Arras.
The arrangement sees Accolade continue to produce and bottle the namesake brand for Handpicked through a “long-term” agreement.
“Whilst we remain incredibly proud of the success of Arras, it is a luxury brand that does not fit neatly with the rest of our portfolio focus areas at this time,” said Accolade CEO Robert Foye. “Our focus is on locking in Accolade Wines’ recent success in major markets and concentrating our efforts on our successful commercial and ‘masstige’ brands with global reach.”
Unlike Accolade, Australian peer Treasury Wine Estates is heading in the other direction along the price ladder in wine. Last month, Treasury booked a 4.9% dip in 12-month sales to the end of June, with CEO Tim Ford saying the group’s premiumisation strategy “will continue to deliver our long-term growth ambitions through the cycle”.
