Megs gift shop wine

[AtIusvue]

As per the DM, we are told Meg is using Fairwinds Estate winery for her rose. Sounds nice.
But a Reddit user has discovered, that Fairwinds winery is just a brand under the umbrella of Wine gift shop. They do corporate gifts and print on demand. Oh Meg, as ever

https://winegiftshop.com

I'm not looking to prove my point is more superior then again im not the one making comments about how I disapprove of people lying yet then say its okay to lie, so judging other people and disliking them because they lie whilst being a hypocrite and lying myself...ummmm okay.

There are lies, and then there are LIES, Spectre. Saying your hair looks good when it doesn't isn't the same as branding people who have a major public role - and represent the country - as racists to the world is unforgivable. Harry later backtracked on this, saying that Meghan never did make the claim. So - lie upon lie - whatever works in the moment, I guess.

I’d never seen Suits but both my then young adult children watched and were excited/amused to watch the wedding. My DS made a little sigh to hold up saying “Someone from Suits” every time I said “Who’s that?”

Going back to As Ever, I saw this article a while ago, but it seems to have popped up
again and it struck a chord with regard to Meghan and her endeavours. It is about Kate Moss and her failed wellness business. It examines the reasons why it failed and the broad conclusion is that it is partly due to Moss not engaging with a community on social media and partly down to Moss and wellness being a bad fit, as she has more of a reputation as a party girl than a healthy living girl. So “authenticity” is lacking. Hopefully the article will link. I seem to be having nightmares with links lately 😆See here hopefully

I’m not getting the ‘failing’ narrative. The products sold out - what more would you want as a business? I see people talking about possibility of really low quantities but that doesn’t make sense with the consumer goods division of Netflix involved - their whole model is based on volume and making $$$. I’m sure they’re all looking at how to increase manufacturing capacity as currently they’re leaving money on the table by going out of stock so quickly. Netflix would only care about increasing shareholder value and they’ll want to take full advantage by meeting the demand.

And it would be very easy to go down the -for example, stepping in front of the Queen is appalling but wearing a racist brooch is an unfortunate mistake- route.

I think this is a good example of how unhelpful febrile and polarised discussions have become on these issues. Neither issue is, to me, a binary (i.e. either completely acceptable or totally unacceptable) in that the Queen had presumably dealt many many times with people who were unsure of what was the correct protocol around her; there is clearly a spectrum between a golliwog and an artist’s depiction of a black man. But no nuance is allowed - they are both classed as appalling because the viewer dislikes the person in question.

Personally i think the more interesting issue is the small tells they can provide as to the person’s thought process. Princess Michael appears not to be aware that her clothing choices can send messages she may not intend, and that atttudes to important things like depictions of different races can and do change. Meghan appears not to consider that deferring to her in-law/elder/sovereign might be a sensible approach…

I don’t hate her. I do actively dislike her, will that do?

The products sold out but we don’t know what the volume was (certainly not a very large volume) , the re-stocking was shambolic (and allegedly wasn’t going to happen until there were murmurings about it being odd and then a u turn ensued) and there are those who have had their orders accepted and have paid only to be told that the item is unavailable. The wine can only be bought in cases of three which, with shipment, cost around $100 and isn’t being shipped for over a week. Doesn’t sound like a recipe for success. The parallels with Kate Moss are the lack of authenticity and the lack of engagement with social media (Meghan has comments turned off). I’m not sure it can be seen as a success if it’s not making much money, which seems likely to be the case given the above

Spot on, CoffeeCantata, and this all puts me in mind of an interview someone did ages ago with a palace adviser, when he said that "Actually we don't have protocol here; what we do have is good manners"

Leaving aside that some of the RF themselves don't seem to have had that memo, it really struck a chord with me. We might not all know the ins and outs of who sits where and the rest, but IME just plain manners can carry an awful lot, even when in a world we're not familiar with

Or that Princess Michael cannot possibly have worn that brooch at all, not just in front of Meghan, without realizing it could give offence and that a person from a significantly less deferential culture than ours might get it wrong? Personally, I think the RF are well enough advised for that brooch to have been ditched, so wearing it must have been deliberate. and many of Meghan’s faux pas in the early days would not have registered in, say, America. Which would have added to the victim narrative. For clarity, I’m not saying that was right-just suggesting what might have happened.

The raspberry spread was launched in March and once sold out has been marked as 'coming soon' ever since . It was made in a factory, so I cant see why it's taken 4 months and counting to be restocked .

Princess Michael is not dressed by Royal advisors. She would have dug that brooch out of her jewellery box. Who knows why she felt the need to wear it, but you can't blame BP for that.

Just because we don’t know the quantities doesn’t mean they were low. Maybe they were but still would be in the tens of thousands at least. Having worked with businesses of all sizes they all suffer from growing pains in the beginning, most don’t get amplified like this.
I agree things don’t appear perfect, but they never are with a new business. It’s good to see them going above and beyond with the refunds coming with the offer of a free replacement product for oversold items.
I think it’s easy to move into wishful thinking category when you want the person to fail or feel they deserve to fail.

@CurlewKate thanks for your explanation. I agree with it. Whilst it seems mad to see a successful actress and a senior member of the royal family as underdogs that is how they have clearly positioned themselves over the years since they found freedom. Put that together with the fact that in the US most don't understand how the monarchy works and how it intersects with our culture and politics then i can see how they pulled it off.

I think we also need to remember that for the US issues of race are very different than they are here. We have never had legal restrictions on what black people could and couldn't do; in the US segregation didn't end until 1964 and that wasn't the end of restrictions just the beginning of the end, it is all very recent. If you spend any time in the US a lot of areas still feel fairly segregated in terms of housing and other things and since Trump things have got worse not better.

I'm not saying the UK is perfect, we can be very racist it just isn't a simple as black/ white (remember the no blacks, no Irish signs).

So to pivot back to the Sussex underdogs. They positioned themselves as cast out from the evil royal family, they hinted at racism and made sure to suggest that the UK Commonwealth is slavery 2.0. I can see why people who have been or are subject to racism in the US might see Harry and Meghan as people who understand their own struggle and worthy of support.

As an aside I love protocol and tradition. It's a thousand year old institution, I don't want the top job to change hands with a hand shake or a signature. I want ancient spoons, secret oil recipes, posh jewelled hats and rules about who walks where and curtsey to whom. It makes it fun and weird. And the world needs more fun and weird. I'd hate to be part of it but I like watching.

No I don’t want them to fail but I can’t see how they will succeed when it’s obvious that the business is not properly run. That is not “growing pains”. As pp said, the spread is manufactured in a factory. Why hasn’t it been restocked? Why is the honey and the apricot spread appearing for re-sale on eBay when orders to customers who have paid have not been fulfilled? If the business is fully backed by Netflix, why is it such small scale? Why is the As Ever instagram account being neglected and why is there no interaction with users? This is all basic stuff that is not happening

typo

I think Tataler is playing with everyone.
she’s not a fan, she’s a disrupter. I quite enjoy her posts but don’t take them seriously or at face value.

edited to say I enjoy the conversation her posts generate when she’s being good natured!

i don’t see what eBay listings have to do with Meghan or Netflix. Some opportune people saw the chance of buying in demand items to sell at a higher price once they officially sold out. Happens with popular products and event tickets etc all the time.
how do you know it’s small scale - do you have volume numbers from the company?
though it’s definitely smaller than there seems to be demand for.
As to increasing manufacturing capacity, I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes but I’m sure they’re working on it because the money for the products is there for the taking with minimal effort required in terms of marketing and promotion.

I understand having a smaller amount of stock for the initial launch, just to test the waters but after the first sell out you'd get the idea that it's all very popular so would increase the amount available. Also, should there have been contingency plans in place for this scenario? Wouldn't a conversation have been had with the supplier as to how quickly they could get the next batch ready in the event of a sell out?
A good business person would have all bases covered.

There has been quite a discussion about the products being re sold on eBay. None of the original drop appeared there and people commented that it was odd because, usually, popular or sold out products appear there or on other re sale platforms as people look to make money out of demand. After this drop, products have begun to appear on eBay as if someone was taking notice of these comments 🤔. At the same time, some who have paid for their products have not received them. Why was payment taken for a non existent item? That doesn’t seem very professional, even if a freebie replacement has been promised

I think we also need to remember that for the US issues of race are very different than they are here. We have never had legal restrictions on what black people could and couldn't do; in the US segregation didn't end until 1964 and that wasn't the end of restrictions just the beginning of the end, it is all very recent. If you spend any time in the US a lot of areas still feel fairly segregated in terms of housing and other things and since Trump things have got worse not better.

Yes - I remember Reginald D Hunter making this point comically on HIGNFY when he said the 'Britain is just not very good at racism!'

I took that as a compliment! We're far from perfect but I think things go on in the US which would shock us here.

At least the main two eBay sellers have been able to maintain stock for over four hours. If Netflix truly believed they were onto a winner the restocking would be in weeks not months. The spread and the teas require no extra faffing unlike the limited boxing. My local bakery sells out of bread everyday by 1, this is to ensure that locals know to get there early (and buy cakes), they could make more bread but profits are at the highest when they limit as it creates an aura of desirablity. It doesn't however mean they could stock tescos.

You think Americans are reading mumsnet royals board and deciding to buy products to resell from the second drop because of the comments here? Doubt it.
More likely some opportunists saw how quickly the first drop sold out and all the press around it and because of that decided to make a few bucks from the second drop. Everything is not complicated or a conspiracy.

I don’t think it’s a conspiracy, I just think it’s an unprofessional shambles. Like pretty much everything the Sussexes have done. Can you tell me anything they have done well 🤷‍♀️

Or that Princess Michael cannot possibly have worn that brooch at all, not just in front of Meghan, without realizing it could give offence and that a person from a significantly less deferential culture than ours might get it wrong?

I don't know how Princess Michael could have thought the brooch was OK, Curlew. It might have been beautifully crafted from precious materials and the intention might have been to depict a black boy in a positive light - who knows - when it was made. From what I saw, it wasn't like a jokey, golliwog image. But in the context of the 21st century it's just not acceptable as something to be worn. As a museum piece it could tell us something about changing attitudes.

I’m glad someone said this-I think that too.

The Princess Michael's brooch incident was pretty bad IMO, I was appalled when I saw the picture. It did seem deliberately provocative and insulting (I think probably was, PM does not have a blameless history around race) especially when meeting MM for (presumably) the first time.

However, she was pretty much universally and properly criticised for it.