Lovers of South African wine must be knowing where to get their wine online; and if you are a frequent search of wine CyberCellar must have come through your search if you have not made a transaction with them. The site sells all types of booze, from Wine, to liquors, to beers as well as wine accessories.
The South African company delivers the most affordable wines at cellar door prices while giving the residents the convenience of delivery straight to their door.
David Muller, Managing Director (MD) of CyberCellar, has every reason to boast of the wine selling venture which has given the online company second place in the wine selling buiness. this is what he says:
1. How did you get involved in CyberCellar?
I wish I could say, “I had a dream…”, but sometimes I think that you don’t choose the wine industry, the wine industry chooses you. I joined Cybercellar as a minority shareholder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in 2012. One thing lead to another and myself and the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), at that stage, decided to buy the company outright.
2. Tell us more about www.CyberCellar.com
CyberCellar is proudly South Africa’s second oldest surviving e-commerce store specializing in the sale of premium wines, beers, liqueurs, and wine accessories. Founded in 1998, CyberCellar is South Africa’s best online wine Website and boasts over 3 000 wines and beers.
3. How did the name ‘CyberCellar’ originate?
The name ‘CyberCellar’ stands as testimony to the era in which it was coined: the internetwild frontier of the nineties; when wine.com was still virtualvineyard. Just as Kalahari was a play on Amazon, I assume that CyberCellar was a play on VirtualVineyard.
4. What has been your biggest challenge as an entrepreneur?
The continuous need for personal growth and capacity-building. A company growing from scratch to relative size is like a child growing up through adolescence into adulthood. The skills and abilities that were good enough yesterday are insufficient tomorrow. You need to grow with it, be self-aware, humble and willing to learn and adapt.
5. What is your favourite part of your job?
This is going to sound like a cliché, but getting up in the morning – I love what I do. Also, tasting many wines for free comes as an added bonus!
6. What has been your biggest learning curve with regards to starting a company within the South African online retail industry?
Online retail, in essence, is retail and that is a tough industry. Just consider the average profit margin of your large retailers. You need to innovate and delight and never just assume. Finally, it is true what they say: cash flow is king.
“In success you only learn about good cigars, it is during failure that you learn about business.”
7. What are you most passionate about within CyberCellar?
The fact that it is working, and that our hard work over the last two years is bearing fruit. Success is a great feeling that stirs passion and motivation. It is also rewarding to see how the people alongside you have grown through the challenges and have even outgrown you!
8. What are some of CyberCellar’s most popular wines?
Our popular wines are very much driven by the deal of the month, but the consistent performers are the following:
- Springfield Life From Stone
- Meerlust Rubicon
- Bartinney Noble Savage
- La Motte Millennium
- Any Platter 5 Star Wine
- Any wine from the Sadie Family
- Antebellum Chenin Blanc
- Beyerskloof.
9. What can consumers expect from www.CyberCellar.com in the coming months?
What sets Cybercellar apart from most other eCommerce companies is that we are very narrowly focused; where other outfits have many product categories, we only have one – wine. We have found the most promising aspect of CyberCellar to be customer service and personal relationships with our customers. Our strategy, moving forward, is to build on this core offering of the widest selection of wine at cellar door prices, with a great focus on further bettering the customer experience. I strive to see CyberCellar as the dominant wine retailer in South Africa with a footprint established in neighboring countries as well as Europe. I hope to hear the name CyberCellar in any conversation that features wine and for it to be spoken about in an affectionate, proud tone.
10.If you had to purchase an order from www.CyberCellar.com, what would your product order include?
