Global fine wine and spirits merchant Bordeaux Index has reported sales growth of almost 50% year on year, to a company record total of US$174m.
Increased activity in Asia and the US (where trade tariffs on many French wines were suspended in Q1) has been most noteworthy, but the company has also seen pronounced gains in the UK. The business’s client base also increased by c.30% year on year.
The strong growth in volumes on the LiveTrade online platform – a trading venue in the market for Bordeaux, Champagne and Italian wines – came as the company prepares for the launch of a new, expanded version of the platform this year, when users from across the wine market will be able to trade the full spectrum of fine wines rather than the core set which LiveTrade has focused on to date.
Gary Boom, Founder and CEO of Bordeaux Index, commented: “We are delighted to report record-breaking results and indeed such strong progress compared to 2020. While activity in the wine market – just as in other luxury assets and collectibles such as art – has no doubt been high, we believe our outsized growth is a clear vindication of our strategy to improve market access and transparency alongside providing best-in-class product expertise.
“Looking ahead to 2022, there is certainly room for an optimistic outlook, with the global pool of wine collectors on a different scale to a decade ago, and also investors increasingly looking towards hard assets such as wine which deliver consistently strong performance, capital preservation and protection against inflation.
“Building on the tremendous growth last year, we have invested in new technology to improve our LiveTrade platform, which we firmly believe will continue to transform the way fine wine is bought and sold globally.”
As we start the New Year, Bordeaux Index has revealed its top five fine wine market predictions for 2022, mapping out which blue-chip labels and regions are poised for even greater growth this year, and why. Read more on that here.