Coterie Holdings has appointed Andrew Shaw as its wine director less than two months after it also announced the acquisition of specialist importer Hallgarten & Novum Wines.
Shaw, who is set to take up the new role at the beginning of March, was most recently head of trading for beers, wines and spirits at Marks & Spencer (M&S), having the joined the retailer in 2021 to help revamp its range.
His appointment comes as Coterie seeks to grow its presence in premium and fine wine in the UK, and follows the arrival of Michael Saunders, another senior industry figure, as CEO.
‘Coterie is an exciting wine business,’ Shaw told Decanter. ‘This is very much the first chapter of what should be a fantastic and exciting wine journey.’
Shaw, with his extensive two-decade-long career in wine, has held prestigious positions such as the buying manager for wine at Waitrose and the buying director at Bibendum, a significant importer and supplier. He has also served as a judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards.
His new role, as he asserts, offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to a group that combines the dynamism of a start-up with a seen presence in the wine industry.
Coterie added to its portfolio, the specialist importer and trade supplier Hallgarten, joining its ownership of fine wine merchant Lay & Wheeler since 2019.
Furthermore, Coterie manages a wine storage space named Coterie Vaults and recently launched Jera, a new wine-centered lending platform for collectors and restaurants.
Jera is distinguished by Coterie as “an online platform where wine collectors and eateries can use their quality wine as security”.
As Shaw mentioned, the unique thing about Coterie is its exclusive concentration on the qualitative aspect of the proposal. It is unusual to find something both qualitative and scalable.
The current situation is largely observed as a challenging time for the UK wine industry, yet the concern is about better customer engagement, he remarked.
His latest appointment also symbolizes a reunion with Michael Saunders, with whom he collaborated for many years at Bibendum.
Prior to joining Coterie as CEO, Saunders was CEO at Bibendum – a business he first joined in 1983.