Off their trolleys!
With pubs taking the blame for most of the UK's ills, supermarkets are getting away with cut-price promos. Tom Sandham investigates.
A drinks price war is raging. Cut-price beer and spirits are fighting their way into the face of the consumer and the choice is vast. But the battlefield is not in pubs.
True there are still operators who fire a shot across the bow with the occasional happy hour, two-for-one promotions and the like. And with David Blunkett forever harping on about the on-trade's role in irresponsible drinking, you could be forgiven for thinking pubs are the prime suspects. But when it comes to the serious discounting it is supermarkets that reign supreme.
As Euro 2004 hits its stride, stores like Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda will be calling the shots. They have already packed their shelves with stupendous amounts of booze and happy shoppers can be seen loading cars right across the country.
So how are they getting away with it and what is it doing to the trade?
In short, many feel the ridiculously low pricing of supermarket alcohol is killing pubs. Although this might be viewed as an exaggeration, off-trade sales now account for 39 per cent of drinks sales and this figure is growing rather than diminishing.
Festive periods and special events like sports tournaments are obviously peak periods for the drop in supermarket prices but these are the times when pubs hope to attract custom.
Football matches in Euro 2004 are being aired on terrestrial television, and with supermarkets giving customers cut-price alcohol, it is easy for drinkers to stay at home.
Licensee Ted Osborne knows this only too well. His pub, the Cock Tavern in Walthamstow, London, is opposite a billboard and last week he could read the Sainsbury's offer every day.
"It's offering 20 bottles of Budweiser for £12.99 and I can't get 24 for cheaper than £30. We can't compete with that and it's killing the pubs.
"It makes me angry because we get penalised for irresponsible drinking but a lot of the drinking is going on in the home."
Sainsbury's has been the worst offender during the build-up to Euro 2004 and advertising for its massive reductions has spread far and wide.
Last week The Publican reported how the Sainsbury's all-out offensive had seen prices on beer, cider and RTDs slashed by 20 per with a can of Stella Artois going for around 67p and a bottle of Carlsberg Export for 37p. The supermarket even claimed that prices will be around 40 per cent lower than during the Euro 2000 tournament.
Meanwhile, Asda is offering two crates of selected beers for £20, including 24 bottles of Kronenbourg and Stella Artois, or one for only £11.98. A bargain - and why buy one crate when you can have two?
It is reports like this that particularly wind up the on-trade and Tony Payne, chief executive at the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations, not only regrets the effect on pub business but also the way it is tarnishing the image of the pub.
"It's damaging to the on-trade because it leads to uncontrollable drinking from customers," he said.
"They go in and buy in bulk and don't necessarily need as much as they take home. If you stand outside a supermarket every customer seems to leave with a crate of beer.
"Worse though is the fact that people drink at home and come into the pubs drunk and the pub gets the blame for any violent behaviour.
"I feel sorry for the trade. The government should be addressing this because every week they seem to attack pubs."
Mark Hastings at the British Beer & Pub Association agrees: "It is very difficult for supermarkets to argue they are not selling their alcohol for immediate consumption and so should be expected to run any promotion at the highest possible level. Like pubs, they should be tackling irresponsible drinking and these sorts of promotions and deals will raise eyebrows among ministers and politicians."
Even The Portman Group is on side and while it emphasises that price is just one factor, chief executive Jean Coussins is still perturbed.
"We would be concerned about evidence that linked low prices in supermarkets to alcohol misuse," she said.
In reply the supermarkets claim they are doing as much as they can to work on the issues of social responsibility but, as one would expect, they will not be seeking forgiveness for their prices.
An Asda spokeswoman said: "Our responsibility is to ensure that our prices are the lowest in the market for everything we sell. It's about encouraging customers to save more, not drink more. They are then free to spend that extra money on the finer things in life - like going to watch the football in Portugal this summer."
Meanwhile a Tesco spokesperson said: "Our strategy is to offer our customers unbeatable value and we make no apology for offering our customers fantastic value through our promotions, but we are also committed to promoting a sensible drinking message."
Sainsbury's beer buyer Ben Wheeley said: "The May bank holiday was a warm-up for Euro 2004 this year and we're expecting people to take advantage of great offers and stock up for the entire tournament."
Of course, this is no consolation to the licensees who have their hands tied on offering similar promotions because of government pressure.
Related articles:
Pubs face supermarket onslaught for Euro 2004 (24 May 2004)
