Naked Wines grows as sales rise in crisis

The price of shares in AIM-listed Naked Wines (LON:WINE) climbed 9.55% to 299.06p (as of 14:50 BST) after it said that demand from new and repeat customers had increased since restrictions on social gatherings began. Management said that revenue was on track to be slightly ahead of current consensus and have continued to invest in customer acquisition, but said that future trading patterns were uncertain.

CEO Nick Devlin commented: “During this unprecedented time, our absolute priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff, customers, suppliers and winemakers and we have implemented necessary safeguarding measures in line with government advice in each of our markets.

“I am deeply proud of the way our teams have responded to the challenge of adapting to a new way of working in light of COVID-19 and their commitment to serving our customers. To the extent it’s safe to do so we are working hard to continue to connect wine drinkers with world class independent winemakers and bring a moment of normality and enjoyment into their homes without necessitating a visit to a store.

“In the short term, the introduction of social distancing has accelerated the shift in consumer buying behaviour towards online, leading to increased demand from both new and existing customers across all our markets. In the US, especially, I believe the current period could serve as an inflection point for the growth rate of the online category, and as the largest direct to consumer player in the US market we are well positioned as customers move online. Over the medium-term, COVID-19 and its economic impact clearly creates uncertainty. However, Naked, with its advantaged consumer proposition and strong balance sheet is well placed to meet the challenges of a changing consumer environment“.