Focusing on outlet retention and recruitment

In our series of articles published in the 2024 Drinks Guide, the following are words from John Carmody – Managing Director, Hotel & Tourism Management.

Liquor Legends has experienced another incredible year with the support of our members, supply partners and staff.

Thankfully we are off to a great start to FY24, with our MAT results showing continued performance ahead of Total Market in all categories. Driven by strong sales performance in all categories – Beer (+10%), RTD (+20.5%) , Spirits (+15.9%) and Wine (+16.2%). Wholesale performance is also in good growth up by +10% vs LY.

Outlet retention and recruitment remain the focus within our team throughout FY24, it’s important that we continue to provide the service levels to current members whilst also offering solutions to retailers looking to improve their own business. Constant review of our program, member support and staying focused on our strategic objectives that encompass areas like Gross Profit, Category Management, Systems & Development, Communication and Winning in Retail standards aim to contribute positively.

Understanding the shopper insights is crucial, allowing us to be confident and nimble enough to adapt to market and customer behaviour.

We have seen the loyalty of our shoppers become more apparent, not just within the REWARDS program recruitment but the confidence in the shopper frequency due to range, pricing and service has been evident with off-promotion sales dominating the total share of sales.

E-Commerce has been a great compliment to the bricks and mortar business delivering incremental value to our members and convenience to shoppers. The insights from this space are incredibly exciting as we continue to learn more about these shoppers and the difference in general behaviour to those who shop in-store.

We have two major developments well underway for this year which will be groundbreaking as additional support to our members and shopper targeting. We will introduce LARA, (Legendary Auto Replenishment App) to deliver greater business efficiency on stock holdings, stock turn, forecasting and budgeting from a business support level. Whilst we nurture and grow our current 790,000 REWARDS members with ‘Project Swordfish’ that will allow unique customer journey experiences.

The benefit to existing and potential members is truly invaluable, not only with these two projects but complementing a full suite of support to drive their business forward.