The company owns wine stores in Battersea and Marylebone, along with a nationwide online retail business.
It has been a stalwart of the UK independent wine scene since 1991, having successfully navigated all manner of challenges over the past 34 years.
However, duty increases and Brexit have delivered a fatal one-two punch to the business, which will close permanently on 16 March.
Mike and Karen Rogers established the first Philglas & Swiggot store on Northcote Road in Battersea in 1991. The business grew over the following 23 years, adding new stores in Marylebone and Richmond.
Philglas & Swiggot was renowned for its fine wine range, with a particular focus on Italy, Australia, California and South Africa.
The Richmond store eventually closed, but the shops in Marylebone and Northcote Road – close to Clapham Junction – continued to thrive.
In 2014, a consortium led by Justin Knock MW and Damien Jackman purchased Philglas & Swiggot from Mike and Karen Rogers.
Four years later, O’Briens Wine – the largest family-owned drinks retailer in Ireland – bought the company. Family member Marcus O’Brien ran the business, although Knock continued to oversee the wine range, alongside Lynn Coyle MW, the wine director for O’Brien’s in Ireland.
The Covid-19 pandemic proved challenging, but Philglas & Swiggot stayed afloat, investing in store renovations and a new electric van called Filboot & Drivit for London deliveries.
Unfortunately, Philglas & Swiggot has now succumbed to the brutal new trading landscape for UK wine businesses.
The team said it has been an ‘absolute joy to serve London’s wine lovers’ since 1991, whether in-store, online or through private client and en primeur services’. However, Philglas & Swiggot declared that current trading conditions, combined with the additional red tape wrought by Brexit, would force the business to close next month.
The UK government has implemented a complex new duty system, whereby the tax rate is now calculated according to the wine’s abv.
It came into effect this month, introducing 30 new tax bands and placing a huge administrative burden on wine merchants.
Hal Wilson, the co-founder of Cambridge Wine Merchants, warned that this system would amount to ‘death by a thousand cuts’ for retailers.
‘We sell over 2,000 different wines each year and need to know the precise abv of each and every one before being able to calculate their full cost,’ he said.
Retailers are already mired in onerous paperwork following Brexit, so this added burden represents a major blow.
Meanwhile, duty on red wine with a 14.5% abv has increased by £0.98 in the past 18 months, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).
Duty has just increased in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI), as the WSTA’s campaign for a duty freeze fell on deaf ears.
Merchants have been forced to pass on these duty increases to their customers. Costs are also rising amid sticky inflation, so wine has become a more expensive luxury.
Many Brits are now drinking less. This could be attributed to the price hikes, which have occurred amid a cost of living crisis, along with a general trend for moderation.
It proved to be the death knell for Philglas & Swiggot, and other retailers could follow suit in the months ahead.
‘The Chancellor’s decision to increase alcohol duty by RPI is a real kick in the teeth for both businesses and consumers,’ said WSTA CEO Miles Beale.
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Source : https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/challenging-trading-conditions-force-london-wine-merchant-to-close-551612/