The Shout spoke to Giuseppe Minissale to hear what motivated the redesign of Porters’ Lansvale location, and how it has been received.
Minissale explained that while the store had been a strong performer, he felt there was an opportunity to refurbish the location after 18 years of ownership.
“It was old, it was tired – but it was very strong in spirits, we carry something like 1200 SKUs of spirits in our stores,” Minissale said.
“But we couldn’t display or show the products very well, because they were always behind each other and [we were] not being able to just effectively put them in the best light.”
“Obviously it’s one of our main stores for Porters, and we decided – Hiep [Minle Australian Wine Distributors] and I – decide that we need to create a store that more encompasses the area.
“We wanted to create a duty-free style store and we wanted to create store that was fresh and lively and bright,” Minissale continued.
Minissale pitched the idea of a reopening to Doug Jones, CEO of Metcash.
“He loved the idea, he wanted to come out and present the plaque to us opening the store,” Minissale said.
The event was held on Monday night, and attracted leading figures from across Australia’s liquor and drinks industries.
“There was quite a few people – Bryan Fry from Pernod Ricard, a lot of CEOs, a lot of people from ALM and Metcash, Daryl Fisher from Fisher Fine Wine, Chris O’Connor from Premium Fine Wine Merchants.”
The store’s redesign has had an instant impact, as Minissale outlines.
“It’s premium, it’s really premium, we’ve seen a spike in our Champagnes, our rosés have really taken off, all our premium wines have taken off.”
“So the whole change of the store has really changed the mix of business. It’s doubled in turnover and consumers are traveling for 25 minutes to come and have a look at the store,” Minissale added.
“And even though spirits are still a strong focus for us, we are selling more Champagne and more French Rosés than we ever have in the 18 years we’ve had the store.”