// Naked Wines sees revenue rocket 80% for first half
// CEO says “last six months have been a critical period in the development of the company”
// Shawn Tabak will join the company on December 7 as new chief financial officer
Naked Wines on Thursday posted an 80 per cent rise in revenue for its first half, as customers stayed home and ordered wine for delivery in the wake of coronavirus lockdowns.
The online wine retailer achieved revenue of £157.1 million in the 26 weeks to September 28, compared with the £87.5 million achieved the year before.
“Naked Wines is a bigger, better business than it was twelve months ago. The last six months have been a critical period in the development of the company,” chief executive Nick Devlin said.
READ MORE: Naked Wines welcomes new finance boss
“We have delivered exceptional growth and a permanent step change in scale and efficiency for the organisation. We have a business today that is not only larger, but structurally improved and ideally positioned to deliver sustained growth in the coming years.
“Ultimately the most significant impact of COVID-19 on Naked Wines is not found in these interim results, but in the way it has accelerated the growth of the online wine category and increased consumer willingness to trial a new and better way to buy wine,” Devlin said.
“Delivering transformative growth, against a backdrop of new working conditions required by COVID-19, has required us to rapidly solve a series of operational challenges. We have done this whilst maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction and I am tremendously proud of the resilience, flexibility and capability displayed by our staff around the world,” Devlin added.
Earlier this week the wine merchant said it had hired Shawn Tabak as its new chief financial officer.
Tabak will join the company on December 7, replacing James Crawford who has been promoted to managing director of Naked Wines’ UK business.
Looking ahead, Naked Wines said it expected to see sales grow 55 per cent to 65 per cent for the current year, although it noted that the group was mindful of “significant levels of political and economic uncertainty”.
