Champagne sales up as New Year approaches
Consumers planning to see in 2004 at home
December 30 2003
UK consumers seem set to see in the New Year at home as supermarkets report rising sales of champagne and other drinks.
With many pubs and clubs charging admission or selling tickets in order to avoid overcrowding on New Year’s Eve, Tesco suggested consumers are avoiding “rip-off prices” in order to celebrate at home.
The UK’s biggest supermarket chain, which has already said it delivered record amounts of champagne during December though its Tesco.com online business, has sold 1.1 million bottles of champagne in the past four days.
Demand at Tesco is up 41 per cent compared with the run-up to the Millennium, with vintage champagne sales up 75 per cent.
Marks and Spencer reported champagne sales up 25 per cent compared to the Millennium, with 100,000 bottles sold in the past four days. With a poor grape harvest following the blistering heatwave in France this summer M&S warned growing demand could put a strain on future supplies of bubbly.
M&S said demand for beer is also up 50 per cent, with its stores expecting to sell the equivalent of 11m pints between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
At Sainsbury’s, beers, wines and spirits manager Allan Webb said: “This year is set to be the booziest ever, with alcohol sales over New Year set to exceed the Millennium.”
