Second year of substantial growth and increased profitability, Company on track to reach key turnover targets in next 2-5 years
LONDON, 11h April 2022: Armit Wines Limited, (“Armit” or “The Company”), one of the UK’s leading contemporary wine merchants, today confirms that it has filed its accounts at Companies House for the year ended 30th September 2021.
Highlights for period:
- 7% increase in turnover to £22 million
- A swing in Net Profit of nearly £2m in two years due to a more strategic placement of key wines in terms of route to market and greater operating efficiencies
- Gross Profit increased to 25.4% up from 22.7%
- Increased offering of high-quality suppliers
- Growth of customer base
During the fiscal year, Armit continued to build on its existing business model, implemented by Cordier by Invivo investing in Armit Wines on acquisition in 2017, and then developed further by the appointment of Brett Fleming, Managing Director, at the end of 2019. This is proving to be successful in creating exponential growth for the Company during the most challenging period in the trade’s history.
It continued to focus on being strategic in its key allocations and fine wine portfolio and created targeted, quality sales campaigns, the results of which will continue to be realised in next year’s financial results due to the nature of some of the En Primeur activity. These campaigns, along with increased operating profit, saw the Net Profit increase by nearly £2m over two years to just over £1.3m.
Turnover increased by 7% to £22 million in comparison to the prior 12 month period and similarly, Gross Profit increased from 22.7% to 25.4% (1.8% pts based on a 12 month comparison) due to successful En Primeur campaigns.
The Company has become increasingly agile, utilising a mix of sales channels, and working closely across all routes to market to ensure it is quick to respond to the changing trading environment. This agility enabled Armit to resist some of the adverse impacts of Covid, with higher margin channels doing particularly well, feeding into and justifying the strategy to focus on premium route to market solutions.
The Company also saw an increase of its customer base and added a number of new high-quality suppliers such as Elena Walch, Viticoltori De Conciliis both from Italy, Mendel Wines from Argentina, with more on the way broadening its offering of estate grown and family focused domains even further.
Outlook:
The Company is in its second year of substantial growth and increased profitability with strong plans to continue this trend. This is despite operating during a difficult two-year trading period for many in the market due to Covid 19 and the challenges of Brexit.
The Company’s strategy, which is focused on delivering quality and excellence, is proving successful and the Company is well on its way to achieving its mid–long term vision of reaching a turnover of £30m in the next 2-5 years and £50m in the next 5-8 years.
Brett Fleming, Managing Director, Armit Wines commented:
“We are incredibly proud of our results for the year ended September 2021. We are in the second year of exponential growth in what has been a tumultuous few years for many in the trade. Our results highlight that our strategy to focus on quality, alongside investing in more efficient routes to market and developing our sales channels, is working well.
“We are charged by our suppliers to match their excellence in the wine they produce with our own efforts in ensuring they are placed with the right accounts, people and consumers. This has been a key focus over the last 2 years and is a significant factor in now seeing the results in our numbers.”
“Furthermore, this business model is proving sustainable and we are already in a strong position in the early stages of our new fiscal year. Building on our current position and continuing our plans for even greater efficiency sets us well on track to reach our turnover targets for the next 2-5 years of £30m and beyond.
“We will continue to work closely with our suppliers, whose stories are integral to the fine wine they masterfully make and we sell; and we promise to continue to bring our loyal customers access to some of the finest wines and suppliers across the world.
“We look forward to continuing our growth story and I would personally like to thank my team and colleagues for their hard work and our customers and suppliers for supporting us on this exciting journey.”
About Armit Wines Limited:
Based in Hammersmith, Armit Wines has a reputation as one of the UK’s leading contemporary wine merchants, recognised for the quality of its portfolio with several exclusive agencies in the UK including Tenuta San Guido, Bruno Giacosa, Il Marroneto, Querciabella from Italy as well as established icons of the fine wine world such as Château Lafleur, Domaine leflaive and Liber Pater from France as well as international icons such as Astrolabe (NZ) and La Rioja Alta S.A.
The agency business operates alongside a fine wine private account management team, a trading arm and significant reach in the off and on trade, supplying almost all the Michelin starred restaurants in the UK, along with a host of other fine dining establishments.
