The Booze Brothers home-delivery service has caught on quickly
For John McVey and his fellow directors, it was an idea whose time had come - an online service able to supply customers with their favourite tipples. Enter the Booze Brothers.
The business was established in October and the Booze Brothers website has been active since December. Rapid growth of its online customer base has confirmed Mr McVey's hunch that the service would be easy to sell in Hong Kong.
'I had been working as a salesman in Hong Kong for five years,' said Mr McVey. 'I was selling booze to bars, restaurants and hotels and my friends would ask me if I could arrange delivery of their favourite drinks for their parties at home. So, I would call some friendly booze suppliers and get the drinks delivered to my friends' homes or other locations for all sorts of occasions; dinner parties, barbecues, birthday parties, christenings, junk trips and charity events.''
Six months after its launch, the Booze Brothers now has over 11,000 names in its database and customers can chose from more than 630 wines and liquors. The most expensive item is a bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac which can be home delivered for a mere $13,120 for that special after dinner tipple.
The opportunity Mr McVey saw in the market was that while many diners were able to order a particular wine while eating out, they just couldn't find it in their local bottle shop or supermarket. 'We're trying to offer a range of products that are not readily available in ParknShop and Wellcome. A lot of our products are pretty niche and they are proving very popular because people can't find them elsewhere,' Mr McVey said.