Which is why Cracka Wines' achievement of averaging 20 per cent growth month on month since the start of 2011 with virtually no marketing is an amazing effort.
Turnover is on track to reach around $20 million this financial year and a sharemarket float is on the horizon.
According to managing director Dean Taylor, the secret is to be friends to both customers and wineries by sharing the benefit of the lower margins that can be charged online between them.
"We have had hundreds of consumers who have gone to the trouble of thanking us for our service and the wineries are really keen to join because they get to keep more margin," said Dean, who pitched Cracka at the mid-priced online wine market between Graysonline and Langtons.
"With wineries squeezed between the wine glut and the retail power of Coles and Woolworths, the online sales channel is a way for them to get back some control over their marketing and brand."
Such success doesn't come easily or everyone would do it, with the company website offering extensive wine reviews and information, cellar door sales, a falling price auction system and fast delivery through Australia Post.
"Australians love sport so you have to make buying like a sport," explained founding chairman and former chief operating officer of carsales.com, Shane Pettiona.
"If you can buy some wine cheaper than the next person or race the clock and still get what you want, it adds excitement to the transaction."
From Cracka's perspective, the great thing about its business model is that revenue can multiply many times without having an impact on costs -- the crucial advantage online retailers have over their bricks and mortar cousins.
The other big advantage is the open pricing model which is difficult for the Dan Murphy's of the world to copy if they want to retain differential pricing across various outlets.
Unfortunately it is too early to invest in the fast-growing Cracka other than as a purchaser but the recent profit numbers out of carsales.com painted a similarly attractive but much more mature online business that should thrive in a tough or booming retail environment, earning a buy call.
