thresher group

December 2005 – Thresher Group acquires 200 former Unwins stores.
October 2005 – Thresher Group launches its new Wine Rack format rejuvenating its wine specialist brand which will eventually replace the old Wine Rack and Bottoms Up stores.This completes the final step in segmenting the chain into clear customer Brands: Thresher (wine led convenience off licence), The Local (general drinks led convenience off licence) and Wine Rack (dedicated wine specialist)
March 2005 – Thresher Group launches its Buy 2 Get 3rd Free promotion nationwide, enabling customers to mix and match on the entire range of wines and champagnes.
February 2005 – Trevor Moore appointed as Managing Director of ‘The Local’. Moore, who joined from Caudwell Group, will be responsible for the roll out of the Local brand replacing Victoria Wine, Drinks Cabin and Huttons in the Convenience and ‘Drinks Retailing’ division.
November 2004 – ‘Flinders Realm’, Thresher Group’s Australian merchant brand is launched. The wines cover the full spectrum of Australian wines, with different grape varieties, regions, and price points all represented.
September 2004 – Thresher Group announces the launch of its new brand, ‘The Local’. The Local will focus primarily on drinks, but will also have a convenience offering, including daily essentials such as bread and milk. Eventually Local will replace Victoria Wine, Drinks Cabin and Huttons.
May 2004 – ‘Firebrand’ Threshers own global beer brand is launched including a premium Czech Lager and a Great British Ale
April 2004 – Roger Whiteside appointed as Chief Executive of Thresher Group. Whiteside’s previous experience includes the setting up of Ocado, the online retailer and head of Marks and Spencer’s Food business.
November 2003 – A new range of ‘Prestige Wines’ is added to the offering of approximately 200 selected stores. These wines retail between £10-£40 and represent some of the finest wines available in the marketplace
July 2003 - Thresher Group launches ‘Radcliffe’s Regional Classics’, another new wine brand to complement its ‘Origin’ range. Radcliffe’s Regional Classics represents an offering of Europe’s finest wine producing regions, including Chablis, Barolo and Rioja.
February 2003 – The business is divided into two distinct consumer facing business units under the Thresher Group name. The move is designed to reflect the changing needs of the consumer, and offer a clearer focus for staff. The Threshers retail brand will focus further development behind becoming the UK’s leading drinks specialist, while the Drinks Retailing business will continue to focus on providing customers with a strong local, convenient, value driven offer through its Victoria Wine, Drinks Cabin, Bottoms Up and Haddows brands.
February 2003 - Thresher Group launches its biggest product initiative to date, and the first under the Thresher Group name. The business has developed a radical new wine brand named ‘Origin’, set to offer consumers greater simplicity, consistency and value in the world’s first globally sourced range of grape types to be marketed with a single identity.
February 2003 - First Quench announces it is renaming itself ‘Thresher Group’ to reflect the investment behind and focus on its core brand, Thresher.
April 2002 - Threshers is transferred to Terra Firma, the European private equity firm.
January 2001 - David Williams is appointed Chief Executive of First Quench responsible for turning around the business and reawakening the ‘sleeping giant’ of the high street
October 2000 - Whitbread and Punch sell First Quench and its 2,600 off-licences to a company funded by Nomura International’s Principal Finance Group (PFG), run by Guy Hands, for £225m
September 1999 - Allied Domecq sells its 50% share in First Quench to Punch
1998 - Whitbread and Allied Domecq merge their off-licence businesses Victoria Wine and Thresher to form First Quench

top ^