Providing an impressive Client Reserves service is core to Atlas’ proposition and we have never cut corners in this respect. Over the last seven years, we have seen the number of cases of wine held in our private client reserves grow substantially and this led us to consider how we wish to develop our stock management service. Following a comprehensive review of the UK storage market, we have decided to move our own stock and client reserves to LCB Vinothèque, Burton on Trent. The two primary reasons for this move are:
With the volumes of six bottle cases increasing, we want to offer the most competitive rate we can in this format. Given the influx of six bottle cases we felt storage needed to be reviewed. Since early 2015 we have seen the number of six bottle cases increase dramatically, in percentage terms rising by nearly 57.5% compared to an increase of just 10% in the number 12 bottle cases held. With the volume of six bottle cases set to increase as it is now becoming the most common packaging size, we want to ensure we offer the most competitive rate we can in this format. While we have been impressed with the quality of storage and traceability of stock provided by Vine International, our current supplier, we are charged, and therefore charge our clients, one rate per unit.
We will have dedicated Atlas personnel in the warehouse to assist with the management of our own stock to our own standards. As Vine International has increased its own client base over recent years, we felt the time was right to have our own dedicated resource, rather than to be one of a number merchants placing demands on Vine’s warehousemen. By taking this step, we believe we will benefit from increased response times. By moving our stock to LCB Vinothèque, we will have dedicated Atlas personnel in the warehouse to assist with the management of our own stock to our own standards. To facilitate condition checks, we have even had our own Atlas photo-booth built in the warehouse. We envisage further investments in this area over the next few years as stock management is pivotal to our business.When we set up Atlas Fine Wines, we considered Vinothèque as a potential storage solution, but at that stage the facility was not sufficiently temperature-controlled and needed additional investment to bring it up the standards we required. Today, following considerable investment from LCB (in the region of £750,000 to install a very advanced temperature and humidity control system), a new management team and an exclusive focus on fine wine storage, we believe LCB Vinothèque to be the finest storage solution available, balancing affordability with standards of storage and heightened security.
Please read a letter from Aidan Treacy, our Finance and Operations Director, which goes into greater detail on this new arrangement. In addition to the two points above, they key areas which we will be able to address with this move are below:
1. Improved responsiveness and service direct from the cellars from Atlas personnel.
2. Lower storage charges on units of six bottles and under, making it more cost effective to store six bottle, three bottle or even single magnum cases.
3. The new cellarage charging schedule has enabled us to lower charges for the majority of current cellarage clients.
4. A fixed rate on all storage charges with LCB Vinothèque, which we can therefore pass on to our clients. The new tariff will be in effect from the 1st December and will be fixed until 30th June 2020.
5. An improved delivery service, including the provision of next-day carriers and timed delivery slots and text message notification.
I would ask you to read through Aidan’s comprehensive letter, which covers the details of the move, our stock management service and highlights various new benefits to clients. We anticipate the transfer of stock to be complete by the 30th November 2017, with the new Cellarage and Insurance Tariff employed from the 1st December 2017.
At Atlas, our priority has always been the security and care of client stock. You may recall that we previously put in place a system, whereby our lawyers held records relating to ownership of stock, allowing clients to access their stock directly via the cellarage provider in the unlikely event that this is required outside of Atlas’ involvement. This arrangement is being replicated with LCB Vinothèque facilitating the access if required. You can find this detail on our website.
Additionally, we have a legal ‘letter of comfort’ from LCB Vinothèque (as we did from Vine previously) that acknowledges that Vinothèque has no claim over client reserves in Atlas’ care and they have confirmed that they recognise the distinction between our two accounts, company stock and client reserves. All the measures we have put in place have been validated by an insolvency practitioner to ensure they provide our clients with the greatest degree of security. Again, this detail can all be found on our website.
Please note: We will be sending an additional email to each client that stores with us, highlighting the changes in their personal cellarage charge. I would stress that the majority of clients will see a decrease, and where increases show, these are only nominal and all rates are fixed for the next three years.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.
Simon Larkin MW
Managing Director