Digital Holding Company of Grupo RBS Acquires Share in Wine.com.br
Leader in internet wine segment, company strengthens holding company's e-commerce portfolio
SAO PAULO, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The digital holding company of Grupo RBS, which concentrates its investments in digital media, as well as segmented and mobile e-commerce, has just acquired a minority share in Wine (www.wine.com.br), the largest e-commerce wine operation in Latin America. The investment is part of the holding company's strategy to bring market leading brands into its portfolio, with innovative models and excellent management. It already has a share in the companies Predicta, Grupo.Mobi (with recent acquisitions of Aorta and Hands), Guia da Semana, ObaOba, Hagah, Hi-Midia and F*Hits.
Launched in November of 2008, Wine is the e-commerce and wine club leader in Latin America, with an annual growth rate of more than 70%. The company has more than 2 thousand premium wine labels from the world's principal vineyards, and has a subscription model, ClubeW, with an additional 13 thousand active members who receive a monthly WineBox with two, four or six bottles of wines selected by Wine's Sommelier. The company also works in social commerce, with an exclusive store on Facebook, and in the B2B segment.
For Fabio Bruggioni, CEO of Grupo RBS' digital holding company, the investment in Wine is important and strategic, since it involves a significant bet on the country's high growth sectors, with excellent entrepreneurs. "Our role is to work together to generate strong growth, adding capital and helping in the delivery of excellent management and governance, preserving the company's independence," notes Bruggioni.
"It is a privilege to be able to have a shareholder of this stature. This new partner not only brings a profound knowledge of the digital area, but also a commitment to develop the business, which to us is essential. Our mission has been to construct a Brazilian company that sets the standard for high quality in the e-commerce wine segment, and that will be around for many years, with a vision that is shared by our new partner," says Rogerio Salume, President of Wine.
Customer focus
The entry of Grupo RBS' digital holding company as an investor in Wine will also be of benefit to the site's consumers, who will have access to the improvements that the investment will yield on 3 key fronts:
Selection and better price: better selection of wines with prices that are more and more competitive for consumers. Wine will make available a curatorial approach to wines that will be increasingly nuanced, with a team of specialists who will travel the world in search of the best selection of wines in various price brackets and product categories.
Personalized experience: Wine will make significant investments to implement technologies and intelligence in the indication and recommendation of wines, for a more personalized experience with credibility for users.
Delivery: the structure and process of delivery will continue to be the priority. Flows and processes will be evaluated on an ongoing basis, always with a focus on the quality of delivery and customer satisfaction.
Expansion
The company's expectation for upcoming months is strong growth based on subscribers of ClubeW and in the B2B segment. Wine has just launched its operation to serve the corporate market, offering a complete operation with the advantages of the brand for bars, restaurants, hotels, motels, inns, delicatessens and convenience stores all over Brazil. "It is an excellent segment, with potential to serve more than one million establishments, according to data of the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel – Associacao Brasileira de Bares e Restaurantes)," explains Salume, emphasizing that the Brazilian wine market has strong growth potential.
The wine market
The Brazilian wine market offers enormous opportunity for growth, with the national increase of per capita consumption. Per year, Brazilians consume only 1.7 liters of wine as compared to 9 liters for Americans (source: OIV - Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin). In 2011, the wine market had a turnover of US$32 billion in the United States. In Brazil, Sao Paulo concentrates 34% of consumption, followed by Rio de Janeiro (21%), Parana (10%) and Rio Grande do Sul (10%).
About Grupo RBS' digital holding company
With its headquarters in Sao Paulo, the Grupo RBS' digital holding company, founded in September of 2011, concentrates its investments in three areas of activity: digital media, segmented and mobile e-commerce. The companies Grupo Mobi, Hi-Midia, Guia da Semana, ObaOba, Predicta, Hagah and F*Hits are already held by the company. It is in the process of acquiring new assets to strengthen its activity in these segments.
About Wine
Wine (wine.com.br) is the largest webstore of wines in Latin America. Launched on the Internet in November of 2008, Wine now offers more than two thousand labels of fine wines from the world's main wine regions, as well as accessories for tasting and gourmet products.
The mission of Wine is to contribute to the increase of conscious consumption of fine wines all over Brazil – as expressed in the concept "the world of wine in your hands" - providing access to the best options in the whole world and offering in its online store a careful and ample selection made by Wine's exclusive Sommelier. Wine operates a state-of-the-art Distribution Center, totally climatized, strategically located in Serra, in the state of Espirito Santo, where products go out for delivery in specially prepared packages (WineBox), through a partnership with TAM Cargo, within 48 hours to all state capitals in Brazil, and to 45 thousand active clients in more than 600 cities all over the country.
Wine is committed to bringing knowledge and significant information on the world of wines to all consumers, wherever they may be, and through various digital platforms such as the site and social networks (Twitter, Orkut and Facebook) as well as print media, such as the magazine Wine, with a print run of 50 thousand and monthly distribution. Wine also runs the exclusive ClubeW, Brazil's first wine club linked to a wine webstore and an advantages club. ClubeW is currently the country's largest wine club, with more than 13 thousand active members who receive a monthly WineBox with two, four or six bottles of wines selected by the Wine Sommelier, and offering a 15% discount as well as free shipping for all purchases at the virtual store. On May 23, 2011, Wine was the first company in the entire world to have an online wine store on Facebook (Wine Vinhos, with the Virtual Store application) and in September, it received the "Gold" trophy of the Award for Excellence in B2C E-Commerce Quality given by e-bit.
May/2012
Information for the press:
In Press Porter Novelli Assessoria de Comunicacao
Luisa Pinheiro – [email protected] – (11) 3323-3756
Hebe Veiga – [email protected] – (21) 3723-8160
Art Presse
Helena Heringer – [email protected] – (11) 3065-8415
Flora Morena – [email protected] – (11) 3065-8422
SOURCE Holding digital do Grupo RBS
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