Clos 1,81 Opens, a Private Club for Wine Connoisseurs
"Clos 1,81 is an exclusive community that brings together people who are passionate about excellent wines. Request access and get ready for a unique sensory experience." This is written on the homepage of the start-up just launched by Guido Oselladore. It's an interesting welcome for an e-commerce wine website, because, especially during these difficult times, retailers often aim to maximize sales instead of focusing on exclusive clientele (and who can blame them?). But for Clos, from the French word meaning closed, like a valuable vintage, it's not about being picky. The user selection process is the same as the screening process for producers: high quality bottles for true wine lovers.
Originally from Camposampietro near Padua, born in 1981, Guido graduated with a degree in business economics from Bocconi and made his professional debut in the field of financial consulting for several multinationals. Then came his desire to put himself to the test as an entrepreneur during a moment in which the e-commerce sector was promising a big comeback: in 2009, along with a classmate from university, Guido founded Cupuppo.it, a couponing website that is still active today and is continuing to grow. Later, in November 2012, he launched the beta version of Clos 1,81. The official launch was in March 2013, with an initial investment of €30,000 and a staff of 8 people.
"Sure," admits Guido, "during this trial stage, we're accepting the majority of users requesting access every day." But soon selections will be made based on a questionnaire that users will need to complete when requesting access, to make sure that their common passion for good wine brings an added value to the Clos community. And, after the first "followers" have been brought together, the process of creating a community fuels itself: each new user has five invitations available, "in part because a series of social functions will be implemented in the future," says Guido.
High-quality producers and an exclusive clientele are therefore the two complementary pillars upon with Clos is based. In addition to the staff's dedication and knowledge, of course: it is made up of enologists and sommeliers who taste and try each of the labels received by aspiring suppliers. Because there is no physical distribution, Clos does not have to deal with transportation problems and preserving products: all the wines are shipped from the producer and are delivered directly to the user in three business days. In the founder's mind, Clos is more than a website for selling wine: it's a "cultural mediator" between producers and consumers, a window on the Italian wine and food panorama. "Our idea," explains Guido, "is to create a reference community for people who appreciate good Italian wine and food, a website where users can get information on culinary and wine specialties that can't be found at your neighborhood supermarket and find out about great places to go for a weekend out of town."
"For now, results have been encouraging," says Clos's founder, "but e-commerce for the wine sector is very delicate. So much so that there is still no market leader in Italy and Europe. Our objective," he says, "is to fill this gap and make Clos 1,81 the platform that certifies producer quality, allowing our users to purchase anything on the website and trust its advice." It's an ambitious goal, but with their passion, skills and technology, the staff at Clos has found the right ingredients to make a name for themselves.