Jascots wine merchant is converting the e-commerce operation it launched during lockdown into a new private members club, as restaurants reopen on 17 May.
The new private members club, which will be called Jascots at Home, will see the e-commerce operation cease to cater for members of the public, in order to ensure that as Jascot’s on-trade clients reopen their restaurants, its ecommerce wing will not compete with them for wine sales that need to return to profitability, the company said.
Jascot’s existing private customers will be automatically enrolled in the members club as ‘Founder Members’ but after 17 May the members club will be open to new applications for a one-off membership fee of £20. All proceeds will be donated to Hospitality Action a charity that offers vital assistance to all who work or have worked in Hospitality. In addition, free membership will be offered to hospitality professionals, who form Jascots’ primary client base.
After 17 May, wines will not be available to buy and wine prices will not be disclosed, for non-members.
Jascots managing partner Miles MacInnes said that Jascots owed an “enormous debt of gratitude to the private customers who have placed orders with us during lockdown”, which allowed it to stay open throughout a difficult year.
“We would never turn our back on them now and so have invited them to continue enjoying our wines as founder members of ‘Jascots at Home’,” he said.
Mark Lewis, chief executive of Hospitality Action welcomed the partnership with Jascots, saying the hospitality industry and those that work in it have “been through hell” over the past year.
“Our work has never been more important than it is now, supporting hospitality professionals through physical illness or mental health issues, financial difficulty, family problems and addiction. We are delighted to be partnering with Jascots who as a wine supplier to the Hospitality Industry have faced many of the same challenges through the Covid pandemic. With their help and that of our many other supporters we aim to get hospitality professionals back on their feet again and help the industry to bounce back stronger than ever.”
In December last year the on-trade specific merchant was bought by Freixenet Copestick out of administration, after facing an incredibly challenging year due to the impact of Covid-19 on its client base. This was despite a swift and successful diversification into direct-to-consumer home deliveries and independent off-trade to try and make up for the shortfall in trade.
Jascots was founded in 1991.
