Brookes planning Stuff the Supermarkets phase two
Pub operator Tony Brookes is planning a new phase of his Stuff the Supermarkets campaign after striking a chord with customers across the north in a pre-Christmas campaign.
The entrepreneur hailed the initiative, which saw pub customers filling up collector cards redeemable for take-home drinks, a success in terms of generating sales and awareness about the problems posed by rock bottom prices in supermarkets.
And Brookes, who runs the five-pub Head of Steam chain in the North East, is calling on more pubs and pubcos to run similar campaigns in 2008.
He is also now awaiting a reply from superstore giant Asda after asking its president, Andy Bond, to justify its loss-leading beer prices in a letter.
"We seemed to get the message over to customers," said Brookes. "We must have given away thousands of flyers, and we gave out lots of four and eight pint containers so customers could take beer home.
"But we've learnt some lessons for the second round. Next time we'll use a smaller number of beers and not take out the beers that our customers drink regularly."
The campaign has also been a hit in the local media, including a lead article in the Huddersfield Examiner last week.
"This scheme costs nothing as its funded by suppliers. There's no reason for other pubcos not to give it a go," added Brookes.
The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers was meeting with Brookes this week to discuss the scheme further. Chief executive Nick Bish recently discussed further action to tackle irresponsible promotions in the off-trade with licensing minister Gerry Sutcliffe.
As well as a ban on below-cost selling, Bish pressed for:
• the removal of the presumption of longer licensing hours for supermarkets from government guidance
• the reintroduction of controls on alcohol displays
• for references in guidance to control of irresponsible promotions to explicitly refer to off-trade offers.
CAPTION
Huddersfield Head Of Steam pub manager David Robertson hands over some of the 529 Black Sheep collector cards which were completed and claimed at the pub during the campaign to Head of Steam boss Tony Brookes
