Drinks leader seeks out the e-pleasure principle

First Quench, which as parent company of Thresher Wine Shop, Victoria Wine, Bottoms Up and Wine Rack is the largest specialist drinks retailer in the UK, this week launched a single e-commerce venture for all ten of its retail brands.

Called Enjoyment, the service has been developed by Design Motive in collaboration with Uovo. It unites all First Quench brands individually under a single banner, rather than developing a single site for each, in a bid to create a coherent on-line brand. More than 1000 product lines will be available at the site.

In high street terms, the ten First Quench brands account for 2600 shops, and the company is hoping to increase on-line sales without cannibalising those of its stores. “By storming the World Wide Web with a site of this scale and style, we are open for business in a whole new marketplace,” says First Quench marketing and buying director Ralph Hayward.

A 3D cartoon style and a specially developed typeface have been used for the site to provide it with a “fun” feel. A friendly character, Serge, guides users around the site and helps justify its claim to be based on the “e-pleasure principle”.

Design Motive new media director Michael Farish says, “With First Quench, the brand strategy we developed articulated the idea of pleasure and entertainment through a simple but flexible visual icon. It also extended the brand’s tone of voice through an easy to follow layout and high level of interactivity.”