Liquor Barons delivers record results across all categories despite market headwinds

In 2024, Liquor Barons further reinforced its market positioning as the Western Australian banner group, recording record results across all categories in spite of ongoing challenging market conditions.

These results trail behind a year that has blended both the old and the new. This includes familiar projects such as collaborations with local WA producers - including with Gage Roads and Little Creatures - and the return of the Liquor Barons National Conference, held in Hobart. It also includes rebranding the store as the ultimate destination for alcohol exploration via its A Thirst for Discovery campaign.

Here, General Manager Chris O’Brien reflects on Liquor Barons’ strong 2024 performance:

“Despite challenging market conditions nation-wide in 2024, Liquor Barons has delivered a record high performance across all categories. Our promotional program is the sharpest it’s ever been, our strong consumer brand continues to lead the West Australian market, and most importantly we are continuing to drive profitability year on year for our store owners.

2024 saw the continuation of cost-of-living pressures, which ultimately impacted consumer retail spending across the nation. In regional Western Australia, we saw new and revised liquor restrictions hit our retailers, this coupled with changes in regional tourism numbers post-covid should have resulted in a downturn year for Liquor Barons. This was certainly not the case. Due to the strength of our market-leading program, we’ve managed to deliver a positive sales result across all categories for the group in 2024 and better yet, we achieved a record high group performance margin for our members.

It’s our independent cooperative model, coupled with our unparalleled data access that uniquely positions us to tackle challenging market conditions and keep ahead of our competitors. As a cooperative, our sole purpose is to deliver the most value possible back to our members. The head office team runs lean, and we answer to our store owners, not to external stakeholders. This creates highly engaged retailers and all members reap the rewards.

As the only true WA banner group, we live and breathe Western Australia. We operate proactively and keep our finger on the pulse of our great State. We keep ahead of the curve with WA consumer trends and we take pride in being first to market, showing up in a different way to other banners and chains.

Our success is demonstrated with our growing store count. In 2024 we welcomed three new stores to the group, Liquor Barons Leederville, Liquor Barons Wundowie and Liquor Barons Augusta.

Not only are we bringing in positive sales results and margin for our members, our strength in market has also been recognised at the national industry awards this year. In October, we won the title of ‘Best Retail Liquor Group’ in Australia at the Australian Liquor Industry Awards. This is our 5th win of this prestigious award in 11 years.

The Australian Liquor Industry Awards (ALIAs) are widely regarded as the pinnacle awards within the Australian hospitality industry, where the winner is determined by peer voting nationally, through an audited voting process. This award reflects the strength the Liquor Barons group has in this current market and it’s a huge accolade to receive national recognition for a WA-based banner group.

The strength of our position in market, and recognition by our peers is also demonstrated with our ground-breaking Advantage Survey results. We achieved 4th spot in the 2024 Advantage Survey and we achieved the top performing group consisting of independent retailers. This reflects the success brought about by the collaboration of our uniquely skilled team with passionate brand representatives and suppliers.

“Liquor Barons continues to lead the way in the WA market, executing a powerful promotional program prepared by the merchandise team and brought to life by the marketing team either digitally, out of home or instore. The continued growth and success seen with Liquor Barons is a testament to the alignment with all stakeholders within Liquor Barons and the suppliers who they partner with.”

Key account manager, major national brewer.

Launch of Liquor Barons’ new brand campaign – A thirst for discovery

In 2024 we repositioned ourselves as the ultimate destination for booze exploration for WA consumers. This unique positioning is underpinned by our offering and connection to the local communities we are a part of. Unlike the big chains, we offer a unique, evolving range that transforms every visit into an adventure. We bring the excitement of the unknown, and we celebrate the thrill of uncovering something special for our customers.

As a WA owned cooperative, where each store is independently run by locals, we entertain and inform customers with our depth of knowledge in beverages and local communities. Never a one-way conversation, we know how to read our customers and adapt to their interests and preferences, so everyone leaves with the perfect, and maybe unexpected, beverage under their arm.

This brand campaign showcases our new positioning in an engaging and clever way, leaving consumers excited to have their next step inside a Liquor Barons to be their first step on a new adventure.

With all the achievements and growth we’ve showcased in 2024, it’s proof that independent liquor retailing, and the way the Liquor Barons Cooperative is operating, is the ticket to success. Liquor Barons is a sophisticated, high-tech co-operative and we will continue to invest in building our strategic, market-leading, competitive advantage alongside our exceptional customer service well into 2025.”

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This article was written by Chris O'Brien for Drinks Guide 2025, which will be distributed nationwide soon. If you would like a copy and are not currently on the Drinks Trade/Guide magazine mailing list, get in touch with the team now.