Wine supplier urges staff to boost sales
Wine supplier Constellation Europe sent an email urging staff to buy the company's wine in JD Wetherspoons to help them win a supply contract to the pub chain.
The company, which is behind brands such as Hardys, Stowells and Banrock Station, was trying to win a multimillion-pound contract to supply a house wine to the JD Wetherspoon, which was testing three of its wines and several others supplied by Constellation's rivals.
We would implore each of you to participate in this activity as it is vitally important that we maximise volumesFrom a leaked email.
At the start of the eight-week trial, Constellation wrote to its employees asking them to go into their local Wetherspoon and buy its wines - one bottle a week could even be claimed back on expenses.
The email, published in today's Guardian, reads: "Dear colleague, Just a short note to update you on the wine trial in JD Wetherspoon. To date we have had a poor response to our invitation to get all employees to visit their local JD Wetherspoon outlet and purchase Nottage Hill Chardonnay and Shiraz (and Echo Falls in the Bristol area) and reclaim via expenses.
"We would implore each of you to participate in this activity as it is vitally important that we maximise volumes during the remainder of the trial period. Line managers, as leaders of our business can you ensure your direct reports are aware of this and are participating to ensure Constellation Europe is awarded this lucrative contract. There is now two weeks remaining of the trial and it is key that we pull through every bottle of Constellation wine ... to see us over the line."
JD Wetherspoon said that it would have to review the sales figures during the trial to make sure they had not been distorted by the efforts of Constellation staff.
A spokesman for Constellation told the paper: "Employees were asked to support the trial by visiting their local JD Wetherspoon, purchasing one of these wines and then commenting on the purchase experience via a feedback form. Employees were asked to comment on topics such as wine temperature, freshness of product and staff wine knowledge."
She said only 45 employees had taken part in the exercise and they had fed back "constructive comments" which would be shared with JD Wetherspoon.
