By Andy Young
The Australian Liquor Stores Association (ALSA) and IRI launched the third annual State of the Industry Report in front of around 50 Federal Ministers, Senators, MPs and industry guests at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday night.
The report was launched by Senator Anne Ruston (pictured above) who thanked ALSA and IRI for the report as it helps politicians put science into debates that can become overrun with emotion.
“Thank you very much for the opportunity to launch this report, I was delighted to be asked,” Senator Ruston said.
“The responsibility that the industry has shown over so many years and particularly over recent years, about being responsible about the promotion of alcohol consumption, making sure that we have all of the protections in place for all of those people that perhaps are influenced to drink more than they should.
“I thank ALSA for putting the investment into the State of the Industry Reports. One of the great travesties of modern day life is that the science is being drowned out by the emotion and the only way we are going to get the science back into the debate by having publications like this where you have taken the initiative to communicate the facts about your industry.”
The report details that the Australian retail liquor sector generated sales of $17.5bn in 2017, but ALSA CEO, Terry Mott, said at the launch that the report was about much more than just sales.
“The report provides a wealth of fact-based analysis, providing a clear snapshot of the jobs as well as the economic and social contribution that the retail packaged sector and the alcohol beverages industry makes to the Australian economy,” Mott said.
“ALSA has collated the analysis of consumption trends, identification of challenges for our members’ business from the increasing burden of regulatory measures and this we believe will help politicians, regulators and retailers better understand and deal with the major issues in our ever-changing marketplace.”
He added: “Thanks to the professional analysis from IRI, the report also importantly identified many opportunities for ALSA retailers to build on the continuing shift in Australia’s relationship with alcohol beverages – away from volume and with a preference towards more premium products and this is a continuing trend we have seen over the last three reports. In doing so, it provides extremely useful and detailed category insights focusing on the key performance driving the segments.”
“We all want a safer and better drinking environment and one where ALSA and our members are recognised and respected for the economic and social wellbeing that the sector contributes. ALSA and IRI are proud of the results following months of analysis to create the report.”
David Shukri, Channel Development Director at IRI, told TheShout that the report is a very strong asset for all the industry and one that everyone should be reading in order to understand what is happening in the market and how to best make the most of the opportunities.
“It is important to understand yesterday in order to anticipate and plan for tomorrow,” Shukri said. “One of IRI’s core capabilities is market measurement which why this report is such a comprehensive and excellent exposé of how the retail liquor industry evolved last year.
“From a high-level perspective and the total value of each segment, through to the drivers of growth at a more granular level, this report is a tremendous foundation for anyone operating in the industry, whether supplier or retailer, if they want to understand and then pivot into action.”
The 2018 ALSA-IRI State of the Industry Report comes in two formats: a long format which is available to ALSA members and a shorter format available to everyone in the wider industry. Both will be available on the ALSA website from tomorrow (Thursday).