Booze Barons

• Published date: 02 September 2023
• Publication title: Whanganui Chronicle

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Amendment Bill passed its third reading in Parliament last month, paving the way for several changes including allowing any individual or group to object to a licence application, removing the ability for parties to appeal provisional local alcohol policies, and doing away with the ability to cross-examine at licensing hearings

Health advocates have welcomed the new laws, claiming there are already far too many off-licences in some areas. There are still concerns, however, that not enough is being done to tackle issues such as worker exploitation and the glamourisation of alcohol through advertising and sponsorship.

Others say that instead of addressing alcohol-related harm, the changes will hurt responsible business operators and exaggerate problems with the current licensing process.

Liquor retailing is a huge business in New Zealand, with sales of beer and wine dominated by the two major supermarket groups, Foodstuffs and Woolworths NZ. However, the number of independent liquor stores has increased dramatically since the start of the century.

There are now approximately 11,000 licensed premises in New Zealand, including about 3000 off-licences, or takeaway bottle stores. The Covid pandemic also spawned a rapid rise in specialist online delivery companies.

According to Stats NZ, the volume of beer, wine and spirits available for consumption was 498 million litres last year, around the same as the previous year. The figures show that while wine and beer volumes have been decreasing, the trend for spirits is the opposite: the total volume of spirits increased by 3.2 per cent to 103m litres in 2022 and has risen by 12 per cent since 2014.

When it comes to value, the market is getting bigger.

Total revenue from alcoholic beverages now totals roughly $12 billion in New Zealand and is expected to grow annually by about 4.2 per cent.

Off-licence outlets account for the largest share of estimated sales by value (66 per cent), just over twice that of on-licences (32 per cent), while the two supermarket groups sell more than 60 per cent of all alcoholic beverages (excluding spirits).

The retail industry has changed over the years, with big producers Lion and DB getting out of the distribution trade. That has coincided with the consolidation of bottle store brand ownership — master franchises that control vast networks of independently owned stores.

HERE ARE THE TOP 10 ALCOHOL RETAILERS:

Tasman Liquor Co.

Tasman Liquor runs the largest bottle store franchise business in New Zealand, while also supplying liquor to the stores in its network. It has rapidly expanded with two significant recent acquisitions and last year the company generated more than $250 million in revenue.

Ultimately owned by Australian food, liquor and hardware giant Metcash, Tasman has built a small empire in this country — recently acquiring more than 230 privately owned Liquor Centre and Liquor Spot stores and 22 Liquor King stores from Lion NZ.

The company, headed in New Zealand by general manager Grant Simpson, already had a sizeable franchise operation with 105 Bottle-O and Merchants Liquor stores. According to Metcash’s annual report, it now has 370 franchised shops in New Zealand.

Financial accounts for Tasman Liquor note two recent acquisitions, revealing that in 2021 it paid $6.5m for the business assets of Liquor Centres Auckland Limited, which was owned by Auckland businessman Lal Senaratne...