I’m amazed how many people sign up to wine clubs – not because I can’t see the advantages, but because they rarely represent good value for money, which right now is more important than ever. It’s fair to say that the two big players, Naked Wines and Laithwaites, have improved over the past couple of years, though I still have reservations about their marketing.
Naked, for instance, lures you in with a half-price offer and the promise that, if you become an “Angel”, for which you pay £25 a month to offset against your purchases, you can save up to 33% on wines. The problem is that the original price generally looks toppy, despite the fact that Naked claims it benchmarks it against the “market price” of similar wines (though at retailers such as Laithwaites, Majestic and Virgin, which are also expensive at full price). The offer to which I was directed when I signed up to test it out isn’t as good as it looks, especially seeing as Naked claims to cut out the middle man entirely. So, while £6.99 is not an unreasonable amount to pay for the Arabella Cabernet Sauvignon that’s part of the current introductory deal, it’s stretching credulity to say it’s worth £10.99, and most supermarkets could easily match the £10.99 so-called “insider price” for Naked’s Marcelo Bocardo Reserve Malbec, let alone the “full” £14.99.
