This August, pioneering wine portal Getwine successfully acquired a 100% stake in the renowned e-commerce retailer, CyberCellar. The acquisition significantly expands Getwine’s national footprint and opens up new opportunities, including the valuable wine markets of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
It’s an exciting time for Johan Wegner, chief operating officer of Getwine. Johan grew up and matriculated in Nelspruit along with his five brothers, before moving down to the Cape to study at Stellenbosch. He soon entered the liquor and wine sector, and thus began a lifelong fascination with wine.
“I’ve always been a dedicated wine enthusiast, both in terms of tasting and enjoying them,” he says. “I’m enthusiastic about the idea of selling high-quality wines at reasonable prices, and find great satisfaction in being able to do that.”
Getwine COO Johan Wegner.
The birth of Getwine
In 2003, Johan began vending unlabelled wine via emails to acquaintances and relatives. But as demand escalated, a formal website soon became necessary, leading to the launch of Getwine in 2005. “Back in 2005, we were still reliant on dial-up connections,” Johan recalls. “As you can imagine, there have been significant changes since then!”
Their offering soon extended to three wine and liquor outlets, prompting the involvement of two more Wegner brothers. “Apart from the online portal, we also have two walk-in ‘brick- and-mortar’ stores – one in Cape Town and one in Claremont – where my eldest brother Karel is more involved. Ad, the youngest brother, is in charge of our finances as CFO.”
The website is also not limited only to sales. “It might not be common knowledge, but we provide a service on our website where customers can design their very own wine labels,” says Johan. “Once the labels are created, we take care of the printing process and affix them to the wine bottles the customer has ordered. Then we arrange for the bottles to be delivered straight to their doorstep.”
New growth
The public health measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be very favourable for online enterprises, and the resulting ecommerce boom also gave Getwine a huge boost.
“People who were previously unfamiliar with online purchasing turned to this option during the COVID period, especially throughout the various lockdowns we underwent. This development unquestionably influenced our strategies,” says Johan.
“We needed to reconfigure our warehouse arrangement to achieve a 40% enhancement in efficiency. Additionally, I believe that courier services, overall, have become notably more efficient and that is a major plus for both us and our customer.”
The main Getwine warehouse in Salt River.
Acquiring CyberCellar
CyberCellar is the oldest online wine store in South Africa, dating back to 1998, and its recent acquisition by Getwine marks a new period of growth for the team. “From the outset, our objective in acquiring CyberCellar was to expand our reach to a broader audience, allowing us to promote and offer our exceptional products and services to a larger customer base,” says Johan. “The integration of CyberCellar has the potential to boost our business by approximately 25-32%.”
Is there still room left for growth and expansion? Johan has no doubt. “The online landscape is certainly expanding significantly!”
But there’s a lot of work to do now. “Currently our primary focus is directed towards the successful integration of the CyberCellar database. Once this endeavor is completed in approximately eight to 12 months, we will need to determine our next steps and ask, what’s next?”
At the helm of Getwine – The Wegner brothers: Ad, Johan and Karel.
Contact info@getwine.co.za for more information.
