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In a few weeks’ time, one of the capital’s popular wine dealers, Vino Cultura, will embark on a new venture, by expanding its horizons from wine importer-retailer to a business that encompass wine sales, a Wine Bar, a Delicatessen and a Tapas-style bar.
Boss man Andreas Kyriacou will move the family-owned shop a block away from 2B Spetson street in Ayious Omoloyites to 20 Kyriacou Matsi. In so doing he will expand his business space more than three times, from 100 sq.m. to 350 sq.m. This multi-purpose area will include a mezzanine of 60 sq.m. where the plan is to host tastings and seminars for about up to 20 people.
The ingenious Andreas has a lot of tricks up his sleeve for making and keeping customers happy. “I know they like to have a choice of wines by the glass”, he said. “We cannot just look at a customer as a wallet. That is a big mistake,” Andreas told me. He went on to say that at his new wine bar and deli there will be special times when there will be a basic a corkage fee, with as many as 40 wines on offer at good-value rates, ranging from €3.50 to €20.00 a glass.
Customers will be able to mix their own platters from the deli and pay by weight. At the moment Andreas is organising the logistics of the shop, the Tapas-bar, which of course includes the all-important appointment of chef. He believes the customer base he has now – movers and shakers in the early 30s to 50s – will form a bed-rock of his clientele.
“Our customers – our friends – are what I may call well educated, outward looking middle level people”, he states, adding that this base, appreciating the style, quality and price range of his products has assisted the tripling of his turnover in the five years since the company started. “And then,” he adds with a smile, “we are careful about expenditure – we run a tight ship”. New staff will be few but key people, including a sommelier. He depends on Alexis Panayi to promote sales, which are split pretty evenly between “Off” (Retail to the public) and “On” (Restaurants, Hotels etc.). 75% of the latter is Nicosia-based.
“Some of my best clients include Starz, Seven Lounge and Sushi La, whose business and business practices we respect. At the moment, though, the wholesale business is difficult because it carries more risks than usual of bad debts or slow payments”.
Vino Cultura's future growth will be based on the same strategy that has driven the company in the past – the range, quality and value of products, selected to meet customer preferences.
The range of wines was at first based on New World wines from Chile, Argentina and Australia, and as years passed widened to include more traditional wine producing countries. Last year, the company added eight new wineries to its portfolio, including Rueda from Spain, which produces the fruity Alborada white (13% abv) at under €10.00. France isn’t left out, either: a most popular wine is the Saint Emilion Grand Cru (€15.00). Andreas foresees his present 300 labels in stock growing to perhaps 900 in the next three years.
So, how’s he done this, especially when times are tough, and some wine importers are glad simply to report “survival” and when several wine stores have closed? Andreas thinks that his experience abroad helped.
“After studying and working in the U.S.A. for some years, I was very lucky to have learned from and worked with very good professional people. This helped when I returned to Cyprus.”
Having initially studied investment and finance in New York, Andreas worked for a Greek wholesale distributor where he was sales manager responsible for ten states. He later worked at an Italian restaurant that hosted regular wine tasting events. “This is a daily phenomenon in New York. They’re everywhere, all the time. You can go to at least one different event every day.”
All this allowed him to build up his knowledge of wine and the business behind it and is serving him in good stead. “I attend at least two wine exhibitions abroad every year and I maintain contact with many people from New York, to help me follow the latest trends there as well.”
The Cultura Futura looks bright.
Vino Cultura, Tel. 2267 6707, www.vinocultura.net
By Masis der Parthogh ([email protected])
