Naked Wines appoints Nick Devlin as new chief executive officer

Online subscription wine retailer, Naked Wines, has appointed Nick Devlin as chief executive officer. 

Currently the chief operating officer, Devlin has been confirmed for the position of CEO after Rowan Gormley announced he will depart his position once the Christmas trading season is over. 

Gormley founded Naked Wines in 2008, and continued to lead the retailer when it merged with Majestic Wine in 2015.

Gormley said: “I am delighted to welcome Nick Devlin as CEO Designate. This is the conclusion of a two-year long process to configure Naked to be able to fulfil its potential.”

Devlin added: “Having been embedded in the business for the last four years, I have seen at first hand both Rowan and the team’s passion for transforming the wine industry in a way that benefits both wine drinkers and winemakers.

“We now have the internal capability, clarity of purpose and financial resources to achieve Naked’s full potential. I’m looking forward to working closely with the management team to harness this platform and build a business of significant scale.”

Earlier this year, John Walden was appointed chairman, after succeeding Greg Hodder, he said: ” I am confident that with Nick as CEO, and with his strong team of leaders and dedicated staff, we will deliver significant value for shareholders and customers alike.”

Naked Wines reported a 16% increase in revenue resulting a growth £87.5m in its half year report. It also revealed a 17% increase in underlying trading.

The online retailer also reported a loss of EBIT for over £5.5m which was more than £1m more in comparison to last year. The report also showed the half-year revenue for the 26 weeks ending 30 September grew by 1.7% to £233.1m.

Adjusted pre-tax profit also decreased to a loss of £3.1 million compared to a profit of £2.5 million last year.