Bloomberg's Elin McCoy just published her article, Wine 'Spot Market" Puts Collectors, 12 Million Bottles Online, about Vinfolio's Marketplace. I'm not sure there's much to add as she did a great job distilling the Marketplace into a concise story. As of first thing this morning, it was already the #5 most emailed story on Bloomberg in Asia -- and that includes among all financial and political stories.
A few important points to clarify:
- Marketplace goes live on July 7 - Since I started talking to Elin a few weeks ago, we've move the commencement date for "going live" to July 7 from July 1 to push it until after the 4th of July weekend. UPDATE: I forgot to mention that interested sellers can start marking their wine for sale now to prepare for live bidding. Here's how.
- International expansion of Marketplace - There's no question that the Marketplace is applicable in both Europe and Asia but we need to "walk before we run." The reference to "end of year" for the UK is clearly ambitious and not likely unless we partner with someone. In Asia, my comment about the market not yet being ready simply recognizes the reality that regional collector-owned wine supply drives the Marketplace. That will develop in Asia over time given the pace of buying and the emergence of more local wine storage options created by the elimination of Hong Kong wine duties last year, but virtually all supply being sold in Hong Kong wine auctions today is coming from the U.S. and Europe.
