French winery and champagne producer Moët & Chandon is preparing for New Year's Eve this year with fresh e-commerce offerings designed to encourage people to celebrate at home.
The wine and spirits brand is launching The New Year's Eve WISH-SHOP, a destination for special holiday offerings that also gives customers a chance to win a drop-in to their holiday party from actress Tracee Ellis Ross, DJ Steve Aoki, or actor Darren Criss.
The initiative comes as Moët & Chandon caps off a difficult year for on-premise sales. The company has doubled down on e-commerce offerings as customers drink more at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns.
"I have to say that despite obviously the on-premise being in a very difficult situation, our business has been very resilient, especially as we see the e-retail and, as we like to call it, the e-premises really explode," Anne-Sophie Stock, vice president of Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, and Chandon U.S., told Cheddar.
Stock explained that the company was lucky to have already integrated with third-party delivery partners such as Drizly prior to the pandemic.
"Now that consumers and all people are looking for e-retails to have the one-hour delivery, this has really paid off in the last few months," she said.
The WISH-SHOP is one more way the company is meeting customers where they are. Those who sign up have a chance to win a cocktail making experience with Tracee Ellis Ross, a serenade with Darren Criss, or a virtual hangout with DJ Steve Aoki.
"We are lucky that champagne is really the essence of celebration," Stock said. "So basically, even if it's going to be the biggest at-home, it's going to be a holiday season, and we are always ready, in champagne, to celebrate with everybody at home this year."
Outside of coronavirus, Moët has also faced growing competition from hard seltzer this year — but Stock said more bubbly drinks on the market is an opportunity rather than a challenge.
"I think that anything bubbles for me and for us is an opportunity. I think that as we have seen a lot of people are really looking for a bubbly experience," she said.
In line with this, she said champagne sales were higher than usual over the summer,
"Basically this type of product really opened up the palate of people, and they're really looking into exploring," she said. "So the more the merrier. We always say that."
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
