Publican Conference 2007: Time for action

Is alcohol the new tobacco? The Publican Conference saw industry experts map out a strategy to face down health lobbyists attempting to make sure it...

Is alcohol the new tobacco?

The Publican Conference saw industry experts map out a strategy to face down health lobbyists attempting to make sure it becomes so.

A panel debate including BII chief executive John McNamara and Glendola Leisure chief executive Alex Salussolia heard calls for a concerted PR campaign to shift blame for alcohol-related problems from the pub trade, which they claimed is often unfairly made a scapegoat.

Speakers at the event, which took place at London's Shaw Theatre, also spoke of a need to keep alcohol at sensible price points and to educate youngsters about drinking.

McNamara said: "Let's not kid ourselves. Alcohol is very high up the government's agenda right now. We have to be on the front foot, be far more proactive in how we present ourselves."

The panel drew on exclusive consumer research announced at the conference, conducted by The Publican in association with Sky, which showed that one in 10 of all pub-goers indulges in 'pre-loading' - drinking booze purchased from the off-trade - before they go to the pub.

Of these:

• 47 per cent drink two or three cans of beer or glasses of wine before visiting the pub

• Seven per cent drink four or more cans of beer or glasses of wine.

Yet, Salussolia said, it is rarely the off-trade that gets the blame for alcohol-related problems, but rather pubs "because we are an easier target". He added: "You have to look at where alcohol is consumed. We are twice licensed. Pubs are the only place where consumers are supervised.

"And, in our case, price is a great mechanism. If you give it away too cheaply, people will get drunk. What the supermarkets, which get away with charging low prices, do is hold back the amount that we can justifiably charge in the eyes of consumers."

Earlier in the day, Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers chief executive Nick Bish warned the industry not to underestimate "the new puritans" in the government. "Alcohol ain't bad, but the fundamental issue is misuse and we must be strong on dealing with this issue," he said.

Talk to your MP

One way in which licensees could help boost the trade's image among MPs is by inviting them into their pubs on a regular basis.

Speaking at the conference, Robert Humphreys, secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, said MPs would have a "far better perception of the industry than from reading the front pages of the Daily Mail" if they were invited to see effective, well-run pubs.

"If licensees are not suffering any problems it may not occur to them to involve themselves with their MP," he said. "But we are all in this together and if licensees don't regard it as something they have to do from time to time, then we end up all getting the blame for the bad news."

The benefit of licensees inviting MPs into their pubs was proved during The Publican's Proud of Pubs week in July, when more than 100 MPs took the opportunity to visit their local.

The current attitude of MPs to the industry, Humphreys claimed, is "interested and broadly supportive, but with areas of concern".

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, said the industry must avoid beating itself up over its image. "But we must not be complacent," he added.

Mark Hastings, director of communications at the British Beer & Pub Association, was later forced to defend a question from the floor that suggested a "blame culture" had developed between the on and off-trade over alcohol. But he countered: "There is regular dialogue with the off-trade because there is a whole range of issues we need to tackle. At the same time we need to recognise that we have been successful in putting supermarkets firmly in the frame on the debate on responsible drinking."

Back to the future

In the conference's closing session, 'The Future: What now for the pub trade?', trend spotter David Smith said the country's hospitality industries were undergoing a "fundamental rethink" and that pubs needed to be ready for change.

Smith, chief executive of 'futurist' consultancy Global Futures and Foresight, said that increasing competition for the consumer's pound meant pubs should see themselves as being in the field of entertainment.

"Spenders' needs will change, just as the scope of people's spending power changes," he said. "Social trends are shifting, such as the feminisation of society. Plus youngsters are more into connecting with each other via social networking groups on the internet. Don't miss out on the potential here either."

Jonathan Neame, chief executive of brewer Shepherd Neame, acknowledged that pubs were part of an increasingly fragmented leisure industry, but said that they had always competed with alternative pursuits.

He warned against them "over-specialising", since a pub that goes down this route "can become a tomb after a while".

Francis Patton, Punch Taverns' customer services director, said there was certainly a market for niche offerings, such as pubs that cater for children. But he preferred to focus on the hundreds of good, community-focused pubs across the country that provided a hub for local people: "Those who trade responsibly - and the vast majority do - and who have their roots in their community, will thrive."

Noting the growing clamour for healthy living, Patton added: "Who wants to live to 125 anyway, if you can't drink beer or wine or eat beef?"

Key statistics from The Publican/Sky research

On the smoking ban:

• 18 per cent have been to pubs less often since the smoking ban - compared with 14 per cent who have been more

On licensing

• 90 per cent of pub-goers are now aware of licensing reform

• 75 per cent are aware of pubs near them that have extended their hours

• 58 per cent have stayed in a pub after 11pm since the law changed

On social responsibility

• 53 per cent of consumers buy most of their alcohol from the supermarket

• 11 per cent said they regularly drink alcohol before they go to the pub

• 48 per cent support the idea of raising the drinking age to 21, with 49 per cent wanting it to stay at 18