Licensee anger at supermarkets' bulk buying ban

Angry licensees have attacked major supermarkets for banning them from buying bulk loads of beer - claiming it proves alcohol is being used as a loss-leader.

Freeholders have told The Publican​ they are being restricted on the number of cases of beer they can buy from major chains, such as Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

Pub owners have argued the measure is a restrictive practice and they should be allowed to buy as much alcohol as they want to top-up their stocks.

Paul Mellor, who owns the Cube bar in Poulton Le Fylde, Lancashire, claims he was told by his local Tesco he could not buy more than four cases of beer, because it goes against its rules on responsible retailing.

But Paul is angry at the supermarket's stance. "We all know they sell booze as a loss-leader. They offer these deals on bank holidays to get people into their stores. Why shouldn't I be able to buy in bulk? It's anti-competitive and a restrictive practice."

Paul says he used to buy 100 cases of beer at a time. "They used to welcome me with open arms and even help me load it into the car," he said.

Michael Kheng, owner of seven pubs and bars in Lincolnshire, said the chances of buying in bulk can depend on who is managing a store, but often there was a restriction on how much he could buy.

"It just proves they are selling it as a loss-leader because no-one wants to sell too much to one person of something they're not making any money on," he added.

Kheng said he felt sorry for tied tenants, who have to pay at least twice as much for their beer.

A spokesman for Tesco said: "We are a retailer, not a wholesaler and we have to have enough of each product to sell to all our customers."

He added that six of any one product was the normal limit, but there was "no specific policy on the bulk buying of alcohol".

He added: "A lot of the time it's down to the discretion of the store manager."

A spokeswoman for Asda said the company did not have a policy on bulk buying. But she added: "We give individual stores jurisdiction on the issue, so our other customers are able to enjoy the offers," she added. The deals on beer were "nothing to do with alcohol being a loss leader", she said.

But last year in Parliament, representatives from both Asda and Tesco admitted at times they do sell alcohol below-cost.

Sainsbury's and Morrisons both said that dealing with bulk buying was at the discretion of a store manager.

But a spokeswoman for Morrisons said: "If we suspect traders are taking advantage of our deals we will tend to not let that purchase go ahead."

Meanwhile, pressure on UK supermarkets to act on the issue intensified this week when New Zealand's two big supermarket chains said they were voluntarily giving up selling alcohol below-cost as a loss leader.