The Ottolenghi battle, or what to do when your business burns down

Allard Arisz is definitely a glass half full character. After 16 years in the wine distribution business, his Amsterdam North warehouse burnt down on March 7th this year. Some 30,000 bottles of wine were destroyed in the blaze, representing most of the company's stock. Some might take that as a sign, time to shut up shop or go into a different business. But Allard and his business partner Suzanne van Dalen did nothing of the sort.

A relaxed and smiling Allard told me earlier this week how events unfolded: "I got a phone call around nine in the morning telling me about the fire. I arrived at our warehouse two hours later, there was literally nothing left. Of course we were shocked, but everyone in our team immediately sprang into action and started making plans."

Panic emails were sent to the company's suppliers (European wineries), and within just one week, Arisz et al had replenished about 50% of its stock levels. It took no more than a month to get back to normal trading and to replac…