Over the course of 2024, Coles Liquor announced a series of major transformations - including a pilot restructure of its banner groups and the acquisition of 20 Tasmanian liquor stores - all while navigating difficult trading conditions fuelled by cost of living pressures.
Here, Coles Liquor CEO Michael Courtney reflects on all the headline events of 2024.
“2024 has been a year of significant transformation for the Coles Liquor Group as we embraced change to align more closely with the needs of our customers. Our priority has been to ensure we’re putting in effective strategies to serve our customers the drinks they want when they want them and increase our customer loyalty.
Among the most significant changes is the commencement of a pilot program that will see the consolidation of our banners under our well-known Liquorland brand. The pilot signals the next phase of our Liquorland transformation, which for the past four years has seen more than 600 stores converted to the successful Black & White format.
Liquorland has the largest store network and subsequently the strongest brand recognition in market. By bringing Vintage Cellars and First Choice Liquor Market under this umbrella, we can bring together the best elements of each brand to offer our customers the most compelling experience – from easy to reach locations, great value on the drinks they love, to a locally relevant range and leading customer service. The pilot is officially underway in South Australia and in a small number of stores in Victoria and Queensland, which has seen selected Vintage Cellars stores convert to Liquorland Cellars and participating First Choice Liquor Market stores rebrand to Liquorland Warehouse.
Further bolstering the Liquorland brand, this year we acquired twenty 9/11 stores from the Federal Group in Tasmania. The stores joined Hobart’s Eastlands and Glebe Hill with our footprint now including an additional seven stores in the North and 13 in the South, meaning approximately 30% of the Tassie population will now be within a 5-minute drive of a Coles Liquor store.
E-commerce saw strong sales growth of 26.8% in FY24 as we focused on offering our customers more convenient ways to shop. This year, we became the first major liquor retailer available on Menulog, with the on-demand platform expanding its liquor delivery service to more than 650 Liquorland, First Choice Liquor Market and Vintage Cellars stores. This partnership now allows us to connect with our customers in regional areas with liquor delivery from Menulog for the first time, bringing the drinks for any occasion straight to their door.
To ensure our customers can rely on us to have their favourite drinks on our shelves, where and when they want them, we have started rolling out a forecasting and automated ordering system to help us predict customer demand and required stock levels in advance. The automated ordering will give our team members time back in their day to offer customers outstanding customer service, and drink recommendations to suit every occasion, preference and budget. With that, comes the importance of having the right range at the right store. In FY24, we added more than 970 wines, beers, spirits and ready-to-drink to our range and celebrated 538 awards and accolades won for our Exclusive Liquor Brands.
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. Supported by the dedication of our team members and our trusted suppliers. Moving into 2025 we’ll continue to listen and enhance areas of our business where we know will make a meaningful difference.”
//
This article was written by Michael Courtney 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.
Share the content
