The Independent Liquor Group (ILG) is ready to move into Victoria having signed the contract to acquire a retail business just last week.
Speaking at the opening of the 2018 ILG Conference in Singapore, CEO Paul Esposito talked delegates through the strategy for the move into Victoria.
Rather than investing millions of ILG members’ dollars in opening another warehouse similar to Townsville, to minimise risk, ILG has instead acquired a sound retail business with the space to operate as a wholesaler in Victoria.
“The Victorian strategy differs from the ILG traditional model. We have formed a new business called ILG Retail, which is 100 per cent owned by the cooperative. Eventually the plan is to build a successful retail business in Victoria, with wholesaling being secondary. The development of ILG Retail gives us the flexibility to provide wholesale services to hotels, bars, clubs and liquor retail in Victoria.”
ILG will soon announce a partnership in a retail business in NSW that will run as a Super Cellars branded store and operate as a concept store with training facilities and tasting rooms for ILG members.
Both stores will give ILG members the opportunity to trial new initiatives such as ‘click and collect’ and the opportunity to explore digital with suppliers.
“As a former supplier and being in the industry for over 25 years, the key message from the membership is that ILG needed to expand into other states. We’ve now started the process and we’re in for some exciting times. I plan to give the membership regular updates and I’ll present our strategy at our AGM ‘four in one’ forum in October on the Gold Coast.
“Obviously both properties in Victoria and Sydney are fully-owned, so that’s another branch of ILG itself. ILG Retail will stand alone, with profits returning to the cooperative.”