Naked Wines is an online wine retailer founded by Rowan Gormley which launched in the UK on 1 December 2008. In 2015, the company was purchased by Majestic Wine, a British brick-and-mortar retailer.
History
Naked Wines was founded by Rowan Gormley on 1 December 2008.
In March 2010, Naked Wines announced a pricing model called Advance Bookings at the London International Wine Fair. The model discounts wine when ordered in advance.
Advance Bookings altered its booking model and renamed it Naked Marketplace in May 2011. Customers can bid on upcoming wines until a minimum volume is met and the wine is subsequently sold.
On 10 April 2015, Naked Wines was acquired by Majestic Wine, and Rowan Gormley was named CEO.
In 2019, Majestic announced that the business would be restructured. A portion of the business, including stores and branding were sold to private equity firm Fortress Investment Group. Majestic Wines PLC was renamed to Naked Wines and retained the shares of the original company.
Naked Wines is a publicly listed company. As of 2022, the CEO was former COO Nick Devlin.
Business model
Naked Wines' customers (called Angels) fund independent winemakers from around the world, in return for wines at self-described "wholesale prices." However, the Financial Times notes that most wines sold by Naked Wines are not available on the retail market, "making direct price comparisons virtually impossible", and most wines are priced "close to usual retail price". They currently ship wine throughout the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.
Customers review their wines and interact with other online customers; reviewers give the wines Likert-scale style scores out of five, a Yes/No to whether they would buy the wine again and a textual description. When prospective buyers look at a wine's page they will see previous customers' reviews, which helps them determine what they would like to try for themselves.