Naked Wines really is naked, in the sense that there’s maximum transparency and openness between customers and winemakers. This closeness is incredibly social – customers and producers are in constant dialogue online at http://www.nakedwines.co.uk/ – but there’s also commercial closeness.
Naked Wine’s model is to fund the winemakers directly – so it operates almost as a venture capitalist as well as an online retailer. This cuts out the need for a whole host of middle men, provides winemakers with a steady guaranteed income, and allows customers to enjoy good product at competitive prices.
According to founder Rowan Gormley, who will be the closing keynote speaker at Internet Retailing Insights on 24 March, it’s a model that wouldn’t be practically possible without the fast, low-cost and social nature of the web.
“Quite simply we are a social business,” says Gormley. “The only way you can do this on the required scale, is if you get thousands of people involved and connected. It has to happen online.”
