Entrepreneur and wine distributor Pieter-Jan van Gurp decided last year to use Hanshow’s Nebular electronic shelf label (ESL) system and accompanying digital retail solution in its newest branch of WAAIN Proeverij, a wine-tasting and distribution store from The Netherlands. The integration of the Nebular ESL will provide customers with a digital wine-tasting experience like no other.
Pieter-Jan van Gurp and his wife Dimphy were successful owners of a Plus supermarket located in Roosendaal in the south of the Netherlands before they decided to develop their unique wine experience store, WAAIN. In 2022, they sold their supermarket, allowing them to fully devote themselves to their new venture. From that moment on, they could focus all their energy and resources on creating an exceptional wine experience for their customers at WAAIN.
The WAAIN Store in the Netherlands
As mentioned, now Van Gurp has applied his commitment to quality to a new field: wine. Van Gurp and his wife Dimphy have combined years of wine expertise with proven business practices to open this unique digital wine shop in Roosendaal called WAAIN Proeverij. The name of the shop, which means Wine Tasting Club in Dutch, describes exactly what makes this shop different. In addition to distributing a selection of quality wines from all over the world, WAAIN offers wine enthusiasts the complete wine experience, from learning about wine, to tasting, combined with good food prepared by professional cooks, to buying.
Participants in the WAAIN tasting course are introduced to specific wine varieties, wine-producing regions, wine-tasting basics, wine-tasting techniques, and how to pair specific wines with food. WAAIN’s evening tasting events provide a unique and educational experience for wine enthusiasts. They can learn more about the topic in a welcoming environment and are able to try multiple types of wine tailored specifically to their tastes and interests.
The displays at WAAIN also demonstrate Van Gurp’s passionate pursuit of quality food and drink. The shop is decorated in a combination of black and other dark colors, creating an intimate and elegant atmosphere. Display shelves are placed strategically around the store, designed to add to the customer’s overall experience. Black display cases are cleverly installed against the wall next to the bar, and there is a loft that creates extra storage space and allows customers to easily view more of the wines on offer.
All of the WAAIN display cases use Hanshow’s most advanced price display technology: Nebular electronic shelf labels (ESLs). This matches the overall style of the shop and provides the most complete in-store experience for customers. The ESLs come in black cases that match perfectly with the black displays, adding a touch of sophistication and modernity to the classy atmosphere of the shop.
Hanshow’s electronic shelf labels were carefully installed by Hanshow’s Netherlands team, and two access points were installed to allow the signal to pass through the concrete walls of the shop and smoothly access the shop’s digital marketing management network. The same network is used to manage the electronic shelf label system.
Hanshow Nebular Electronic Shelf Label Solution
Hanshow’s digital retail solution allows WAAIN to flexibly switch between two pricing schemes, simplifying the process of displaying prices for different types of customers, which is normally done manually in traditional operations. After using Hanshow’s solution, van Gurp explained excitedly, “Imagine a scenario where a customer who buys in bulk visits us. We can immediately tell him the accurate purchasing price for every bottle of wine and we don’t have to manually recalculate the prices based on the current retail price. In addition, promotional pricing is easily displayed, which helps us market specific items. Hanshow’s digital solution gives WAAIN a digital advantage over other wine retailers.”
Pieter-Jan van Gurp talked to us about using Hanshow’s solution:
Hanshow: Please introduce WAAIN to us. What makes WAAIN different from other wine distributors?
Van Gurp:
Two years ago, we registered our original concept WAAIN in the Benelux region: the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The wine retail market is small, with over 85% of the wine being sold through supermarkets. Only 15% is sold through a wine shop like ours. So as wine dealers with a very small market share, we need to have a more attractive way of presenting our products to customers.
When customers buy wine from a supermarket, they may be intrigued by the appearance and presentation of many of the wines, but they do not normally have the opportunity to taste most of them. At WAAIN, we provide an opportunity for customers to satisfy their curiosity and taste many different wines. We are confident that this business model is viable. At the end of the day, no matter why you are buying wine, you want to know what it is you’re buying.
Hanshow: How has Hanshow’s digital solution helped WAAIN in terms of operations and management?
Van Gurp:
Hanshow’s digital retail solution allows WAAIN to flexibly switch between two pricing schemes, simplifying the process of displaying prices for different types of customers, which is normally done manually in traditional operations.
When we have a customer who wants to purchase wine in large volumes, we don’t need to manually calculate the wholesale price for them. The price that is normally displayed on the shelf is the retail price, for customers purchasing in small volumes. The electronic shelf labels allow us to change the prices in real-time, so if we have wholesale customers visiting, we can give them accurate prices right on the spot.
In addition, the promotional pricing function is crucial for us. It allows the customer to browse the shelves and choose the product with the best price advantage among the many options that are available.
This digital solution gives WAAIN a digital advantage over other wine retailers. Hanshow gives us the option of using both of these pricing schemes, making flexible pricing a breeze.
Hanshow: What was the most important reason for choosing Hanshow?
Van Gurp:
The most important reason why we chose Hanshow is because of Hanshow’s professional approach to work. Our motto is: either do it well or don’t do it at all. Hanshow’s professionalism matches perfectly with our motto.
Throughout the entire process, Hanshow showed an impressive level of professionalism and support. The team did not lower the execution criteria because we were a small, new client.
Hanshow’s electronic shelf labels also provide better and more flexible support for flexible pricing than comparable products. The text on the price tag is very clearly displayed. The look and the material of the price tags also match the high-end style of our WAAIN store. Another main reason why we chose Hanshow was in consideration of the materials. The price tags that Hanshow made especially for us met our display requirements perfectly.
In the retail industry, suppliers are often unable to keep their promises. But the process of working with Hanshow was incredibly smooth and Hanshow fulfilled all of the promises they made to us.
Hanshow: In the future, what will the partnership between WAAIN and Hanshow look like?
Van Gurp:
As I mentioned before, we found the experience with Hanshow to be first-class; in many ways, they are a model for the industry. On the basis of this cooperation, we hope to make further digital upgrades in our product pricing at our shop on Vijfhuizenberg in Roosendaal.
