- The beverage business blog -
Olly Wehring's unique web log on the global beverage industry, key events, people and his own daily experiences. If you would like to offer your comments, opinions, suggest topics or just have a good rant, please feel free to email: Olly Wehring. |
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A ban on drinking at home – is this the last straw?
6th May 2008 13:27
It seems Big Brother could well and truly be looking over your shoulder if you live in Australia when a new law comes into force banning you from drinking a glass of wine in your own home.
The extreme new liquor law will create “no-go” alcohol zones in New South Wales, and is expected to be implemented in around ten weeks time.
Drinking hotspots across the state could soon be classed as “restricted alcohol areas” for up to three years, which will apply to the sale of alcohol as well as possession and consumption, whether on licensed premises or not.
Gone will be the days of a large glass of red wine to help you unwind at the end of a hard day and no more will “tinnies” be present at barbies if the ban is slapped on your town.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, teetotaller Gaming Minister Graham West said the bans will only be implemented if requested by a broad section of the community and will not be government enforced.
He said they would be decided on a case-by-case basis and developed specifically for the area.
So if you live in an area well known for “chronic alcohol abuse’’ then it could be slapped with a range of restrictions.
West said it was “new territory’’ and it was still undecided as to what penalties might be imposed if someone was caught with alcohol in a banned zone.
Although the new law could be seen as penalising those who are sensible with their drinking habits, on the flip side, it could see the beginning of an end to the serious problem of drink driving and have a dramatic impact on the reduction of crime, surely making the area more appealing to live in.
Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia’s Paul Dillon told the Telegraph it was a “radical solution for a serious problem,” and although initially only a trial, it certainly has the potential to be rolled out globally.
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S&N - An end, but oh so many beginnings
6th May 2008 12:00
The end of Scottish & Newcastle looks more like it’s the beginning of something yet more colourful.
In London one evening last week, the top brass at the now-defunct brewer gathered the city's analysts and media together to say thankyou and goodbye. Considering S&N’s traditionally rather staid summer drinks soirees, this one was a tad more lively, I can tell you.
However, what happens at press events stays at press events, I’m afraid – my lips are sealed.
Of course, the collective hair letting-down was well-deserved, for all present: The battle between S&N and the Carlsberg/Heineken consortium was protracted, tense and complex. And it could still have been even more so, with rumours - after a deal had been struck - linking the likes of SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch to counter-bids for S&N. If what just-drinks has heard is true, by the way, SABMiller came a lot closer to entering the fray than we all believed.
But, spilt milk…
The future, then, reads like a soap opera for both Carlsberg and Heineken. The best storyline, I feel, is the Indian one, with Heineken reportedly locking horns with Vijay Mallya over its inheritance of S&N’s stake in Mallya’s UB Group.
We’re getting conflicting messages on this one, though. The UB Group has suggested, via the Indian press, that Heineken cannot simply step into S&N’s shoes, and carry on regardless, especially with a potential conflict of interest through Heineken’s Asia Pacific Breweries operations in the country.
I’ve been told however, that UB Group’s braying could amount to nothing, and that Heineken could quite easily do what it jolly well pleases with the former S&N stake.
Either way, the delicate juggling act on Heineken’s hands in India is just the start of a new chapter of fun in the global brewing sector.
Where’s the popcorn?
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Mayday, Mayday
2nd May 2008 13:45
A quick heads-up to our loyal readership.
Like the rest of the UK, this coming Monday (5 May) we'll be sitting inside, splitting our time between watching the rain and catching some low-quality TV.
That's right, it's a Bank Holiday here next week.
Normal service will be resumed on Tuesday.
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LIWF & Distil 2008 - just-drinks needs you
1st May 2008 11:58
With LIWF & Distil less than three weeks away, today (1 May) we begin our traditional preview of who's doing what at this year's event.
Click here to see how we're going to be running our daily diary.
To keep this running, however, I need your help. If you or your client will be at the fair this year, please email me at editor@just-drinks.com with details of what visitors can expect.
And, seeing as Liverpool now won't be in Moscow on the middle Wednesday of the fair, I've been assured that this year's event will have my "undivided attention".
That assurance came from a Chelsea fan.
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How to cut peat - the windy, Laphroaig way
30th April 2008 16:48
As promised, here's some unexpurgated footage of how to cut peat, courtesy of Laphroaig, who took me to Islay earlier this month.
Feel the biting wind!
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Bulmers - 'Time to misbehave'?
30th April 2008 14:29
Bulmers’ slogan, 'Nothing Added But Time', seems mildly appropriate at the moment. Staff at the C&C Group's cider unit certainly seem to have plenty of it on their hands right now, don’t they?
Some highly dedicated workers at Bulmer's plant in Clonmel, Co Tipperary have posted a range of clips on YouTube entitled: "Working hard in Bulmers" - clips that, sadly, have been taken off the site now.
Staff were seen racing in forklifts ('Time to Gather', perhaps?), while others were captured spraying fire extinguishers between their legs. 'Time to Cool Down', presumably.
I’m sure the bosses have put everything on ice to mull these antics.
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What bite the credit crunch?
25th April 2008 16:27
A couple of interesting studies were out this week that shed some light on what is or what isn’t going on in the US economy at the moment. The extent and depth of the current economic crisis is being debated ad infinitum. Is this the beginning of the darkest economic cloud to descend on the Western economies since the Great Depression, or is it merely the correction of a market that had gotten over hyped and over heated?
Well, the opinions of those desperately trying to juggle the numbers in the face of the storm have taken a turn for the worst, a survey suggests.
A US survey of CFOs and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton found that 59% believe that the US economy will worsen over the next six months, while 39% believe it will improve or remain the same. This represents a significant change in outlook since the same survey was last taken only six months ago, when 36% felt the economy would worsen and 64% believed it would improve or remain the same.
That said another set of figures this week gave some credence to the argument that we are talking ourselves into a worse situation than we actually need to. All the doom and gloom prophesised by the media can become self-fulfilling, when the bare facts of the matter suggest the outlook isn’t nearly as bad as doom mongers would have us believe.
The figures are highlighted on our sister site just-style in an article examining the extent the credit crunch has hit retail sales in the US and Europe.
The EU's official statistics agency Eurostat shows retail sales in euro-zone clothing stores were 3.2% higher in January this year than last.
The US Department of Commerce shows US clothing store sales were 2.3% higher this February than last - and the UK's Office for National Statistics shows its clothing sales an extraordinary 4.9% higher in February than last year too.
As our correspondent says: “Do these public servants count differently from the retailers? Well, slightly, but whatever's going on in major clothing retailers, it's certainly not melt-down.”
Your Comments
P.T. Barnum said it best....
During times of economic downturns, people will spend their last dime on entertainment!
Look for the movie industry and the spirits industry (especially the value spirits market) to have a banner spring and summer season!
Mike Morales
Intimate Tequila Tastings(
Mike Morales, United States
Also, in the US, consumers are spending along normal lines, although they are looking for value in their wine purchases. Hence, the wines from South America and Australia are getting purchased instead of Napa or Sonoma brands. The US$8-$14 range continues to do well and reports I receive are that it will hold up for next 12 months, at least. High prices on premium vodkas are causing some to trade down, as notion that "vodka may be vodka", and the hype is all in the marketing, bottle and ads, and may not be worth the extra money.Companies flooding market with so many flavored brands, it has almost reached "overkill".
Norman Weiner, USA
Norman Weiner, United States
No question the credit crunch is permeating everyone's thinking, especially here in the United States. However, the tendency to over-exaggerate and 'over-correct' attitudinally and economically tends to be an additional issue - that's how we got into this mess in the first place, with overly-inflated real estate prices. The good news is that our industry is still relevant to consumers, and if your proposition has a 'reason for being,' your business should be reasonably insulated and be able to survive the 'credit crunch' recession. Innovation as opposed to duplication, for example, has always been a major mantra of category management in the supermarket industry (and became popular in the early 90's recession when the Food Marketing Institute released their major category management study with 'variety instead of duplication' premise). We have a high-end Cachaça brand called Leblon, and we are finding the on-premise hungry for news and ideas to bring customers into the account and consume their higher-margin image cocktails. Our business has doubled in the first quarter versus last year, and our category has grown 50%. Certainly not the doom and gloom that we read in the newspaper headlines everyday...
steve luttmann, United States
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Coke stumbles at first Olympic hurdle
22nd April 2008 12:47
The recent furore over the Olympic torch relay has been noticeable for many, many reasons. Not least of all, is the reticence of the big sponsors to either ally themselves too closely to the Chinese authorities or, for that matter, to the protestors.
The silence of companies like Coca-Cola, it seems, has been deafening.
Take a read, then, of the following comments, which appeared in an opinion piece in The Atlanta Journal, the newspaper in Coca-Cola Co.’s home town, earlier this week.
“By aligning itself with China for an estimated US$75m to $90m, it (Coca-Cola) also aligned itself with China's poor record at home and abroad.
”Coke's been making the argument that it's one thing to sponsor the Olympics - a "force for good" it says - and another to condone the actions of the host country. "It would be an inappropriate role for sponsors to comment on the political situation of individual nations," it says in a recent statement. Coke's attitude is comparable to how some social workers say to deal with a child who's acting out: love the child and ignore the bad behavior.
”That means loving China, even though it is sending weapons to war-torn Darfur, where tens (if not hundreds) of thousands have died in what's generally considered genocide. That means loving China despite its censorship of the media and the Internet. That means ignoring the religious and ethnic oppression perpetrated by Chinese leaders.
”There's only one problem with Coke's reasoning here: China is not a child. Treating it as a naive country that doesn't know better is patronizing at best, and downright insulting at worst.
“Coca-Cola has too much leverage to stay neutral or feign ignorance about what happens. Yet that's exactly what's going on: Coke's desire to avoid controversy is trumping its sense of corporate responsibility.”
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Diageo - An apology
15th April 2008 18:22
I know it was cheeky, and I’m really sorry, but I just couldn’t help it.
As the ‘any questions’ segment of Paul Walsh’s presentation to the World Whiskies Conference today (15 April) drew to a close, I simply had to ask him:
“How does it feel to no longer be the biggest premium spirits company in the world?”
Quick as you like, he replied: “There are statistics, and there are statistics.
“For those of you who like to study annual reports, look at market capitalisation, look at total sales, look at margins, and then make your decision.”
Told!
Your Comments
Olly, I say bravo. Pay no mind to the previous commentor. As we all know, it's your job to ask questions like that. If he has made it to that level, he is more than capable enough to provide a great answer, which Walsh did. He's in the big leagues, and as such he gets big league questions. Glad-handling CEO's with kid glove questions (let me know if my American metaphors are confusing) doesn't do shareholders, suppliers, distributors, or consumers any good at all. It's the duty of the trade press to point things out to the emperors of our great industry, and they expect it, nay, they demand it, to tell their story unimpeded by their PR machines, which everybody knows is biased. I say, well done, colleague. -HCS
Harry Schuhmacher, United States
Funny that. I thought it was rather appropriate.
Mark, United Kingdom
Olly, Your question was base and struck me as foolish.
Bob Anderson, United States
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The World Whiskies Conference preview
15th April 2008 12:43
Today sees the start of the third annual World Whiskies Conference. just-drinks will be there in force and is even closing the first day by presenting the findings of its Global Malt Whisky Report.
just-drinks has been the media sponsor for this event since its organisers first mooted the idea almost four years ago. Despite some initial apathy from the industry we have long held that this should be an important date in the spirits industry’s calendar – particularly in a climate that poses so many threats, from the global economy to rising costs, not to mention the anti-alcohol lobby.
I am pleased to say that as an event, this year’s WWC seems to have come of age. Paul Walsh, CEO of Diageo and chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association, will be speaking right before Vijay Mallya, head of UB Spirits – surely that potential clash of world views is worth the admission price alone.
They will be followed, among others, by Tom Flocco, CEO of Beam Brands, and Rear Admiral Dr Peter H Cressy, president and CEO of DISCUS – and that’s just the first day.
This promises to be a fascinating couple of days. The drinks industry always prides itself on being fairly recession proof but the current economic crisis is the biggest test it has faced since the Tiger Economies of Asia crashed at the end of the 1990s. The WWC is the first of the year’s big drinks events here in the UK and gauging the mood of the sector will be an indication of how it is fairing so far.
Keep peeled to these pages for more.
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What's this?
Your Comments
I don't understand how having to go out of your own house and area to drink can bring an end to drunk driving....
Marianna Boikou, Greece