Skip to main content
alt

Please enter a keyword and click the arrow to search the site

Or explore one of the areas below

NakedWines.com

Subject

Economics, Marketing

Authors / Editors

Mullins J

Biographies

John Mullins

Publication Year

2018

Abstract

Thanks to its somewhat whimsical yet measurement-driven culture, its unusual customer-funded business model, and its committed community of winemakers and wine ‘angels’, NakedWines had grown rapidly, from a standing start in 2008 to a substantial presence in three of the world’s most attractive markets for wine – the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Now, however, in September 2014, it was becoming clear that the company’s long-time principal investor WIV was no longer able to fund Naked’s future growth. Assembled in the Birthday Suit conference room in the company’s office in Napa, California, were the key individuals who had brought the company to this juncture. Founder and CEO Rowan Gormley, co-founder and IT Head Derek Hardy, COO and American Managing Director Benoit Vialle, Australian CEO Luke Jecks, UK Managing Director Eamon Fitzgerald, Chief Financial Officer James Crawford, Chief Winemaker Matt Parish, and board member and CEO of WIV Andres Ruff, had gathered to decide what they should do about this difficulty. They had spent the morning developing a set of criteria for choosing among the various alternative ways forward. The afternoon’s agenda was clear, to determine a strategy for continuing to fund the company’s growth. Should they seek a private equity investor? Should they ask their customers – the band of nearly 300,000 ‘angels’, as they called them, whose monthly subscriptions funded Naked’s winemakers – to buy a stake in the business, or even pursue an independent public offering (IPO) of the company’s shares? Should they seek a trade investor? Or should they wait, doing nothing for now, and maintain the status quo until the time for one of the other moves made more sense? By the end of the afternoon, the group had agreed, they would reach a decision on a strategy for financing the continued growth of the business.

Topic List

Customer-funded business models, E-commerce, Financing

Industry

Online retail

LBS Case Number

CS-16-014

Location

United Kingdom; United States

Publication Notes

https://publishing.london.edu/cases/nakedwines-com/

Available on ECCH

No


Select up to 4 programmes to compare

Select one more to compare
×
subscribe_image_desktop 5949B9BFE33243D782D1C7A17E3345D0

Sign up to receive our latest news and business thinking direct to your inbox

×

Sign up to receive our latest course information and business thinking

Leave your details above if you would like to receive emails containing the latest thought leadership, invitations to events and news about courses that could enhance your career. If you would prefer not to receive our emails, you can still access the case study by clicking the button below. You can opt-out of receiving our emails at any time by visiting: https://london.edu/my-profile-preferences or by unsubscribing through the link provided in our emails. View our Privacy Policy for more information on your rights.