Receivers called in at wine firm

SCOTLAND’s oldest independent wine merchant, which sold liquor to Charles Dickens and Walter Scott when they were in the Capital, has gone into receivership.

After more than two centuries of trading, Cockburns of Leith has found itself unable to compete in a market increasingly dominated by supermarket and online wine dealers.

The news has been met with dismay by wine enthusiasts, who described the demise of independent stores such as Cockburns as "very sad".

Founded in 1796 by the brothers of the respected legal expert and author Henry, Lord Cockburn, the business was one of the first major commercial importers of wine to Scotland.

The company’s links with literature meant that customers visiting a downstairs tasting room in the store’s Circus Place branch were for a time able to sit in Dickens’ chair at a desk that belonged to Sir Walter Scott.

The family also founded the famous Cockburn’s Port, although the company’s association with the brand ended many years ago.

More recently, Cockburns had modernised its trading style, stocking more than 500 wines from across the world and offering bottles at prices which varied from less than £5 to hundreds of pounds.

But experts said Cockburns was the latest in a list of traditional independent firms which have been pushed out of the market by modern shopping trends.

The growing number of one-stop superstores where customers can purchase everything from CDs to clothes at the same time has put the squeeze on specialist food and drink outlets.

Retail experts said the superstore phenomenon has been a crucial factor in the demise of companies such as John Smith’s flagship bookstore and Melrose Tea Company’s Scottish factory.

And they pointed to the growing popularity of internet shopping and mail order as a methods of purchasing wine as another reason why specialist shops were losing business.

Sean Ennis, a marketing lecturer at Strathclyde University, said: "The changing realm of the big players, the supermarket chains, is seriously affecting traditional businesses.

"In many ways, they have become total one-stop shops now, with stores like Tesco and Sainsbury’s selling petrol, household goods, and soon cars.

"Traditional stores are finding it hard to survive in their on-street sites. Also, while five or six years ago online shopping was very much over-hyped, it does now seem to be becoming more popular."

Dr Ennis added customers would see an increasing number of specialist stores go out of business over the next few years.

"Increasingly, ten per cent or 15 per cent of our sales are being done online and it is predicted to increase over the next ten or so years.

"I think the old traditional store is going to continue to disappear."

His views were backed by Quentin Rappoport, director of the Wine and Spirit Association, who said supermarkets played a major part in the closure of many high street shops.

He added: "The independents have been going out of business for some time. This is a very sad thing in the market."

According to analysts AC Nielsen, specialist wine stores lost over £100 million in business between 1998 and 2002 with sales falling from £735m in 1998 to £628m in 2002. Over the same period supermarkets, saw wine sales increase from £2.1 billion to £2.9bn.

It is estimated that online shopping accounts for ten per cent of wine sales while mail order sales of wine are around 12 per cent.

None of the former directors of Cockburns were available to comment on the situation today, but a company employee said the premises, in Devon Place, near Haymarket, was still open for business.