The Big Interview: Oliver and William Robinson, Robinsons

For this hopnik — a giant tea strainer that enhances hop aroma and flavour and one of only five in the whole of global brewing — is not found in some experimental Californian boutique brewery but is a centrepiece of the new Robinsons brewhouse in unfashionable Stockport, Greater Manchester.

It’s one sign that, what was arguably one of the more conservative family brewers, has leapt into a new era. Another came when cousins Oliver and William Robinson took over the day-to-day running of the company when they were appointed joint managing directors in March.

But it’s evolution, not revolution, an evolution that’s been under way for some years now, says William. The accession merely “formalised” the handover of the family business from the fifth to the sixth generation of Robinsons.

Much of the change seems to have been driven by a decision made in 2009 not merely to repair the old brewery but build a new one.

“We needed some work done that was going to cost us £1.5m,” Oliver recalls. “I thought surely we could get a new brewery for that money. And we wanted to do more bespoke brews. So we set a budget of about £4m — it was going to be a Rolls-Royce, not a Ford.

“As the project grew so did or our imagination. In the end we spent £5m, adding a centre of excellence, where we’ll provide training for our competitors as well as ourselves, and a visitors’ centre.

“The new brewery has changed the beers and all for the better — we are getting more flavour and cost per barrel is down, which adds margin, so it’s all helping.”

A more flexible plant has enabled Robinsons to take advantage of the trend towards more flavoursome, hoppy ales. A core range of six has been joined by six seasonal ales, plus specials such as Build A Rocket Boys! created by rock band Elbow.

New head brewer Martyn Weeks is “driving change while keeping to our principles”, declares Oliver. “We want to be famous for our beers as well as our pubs.”

It was a good time to rebrand, and marketing director David Bremner brought in beer writer Pete Brown to run focus groups. The result is not only more exciting pumpclips, but more educational ones. Tags tell drinkers the beer’s strength — in ABV and units — and also the hop varieties used, a measure in itself of how far the beer market has progressed.

“Pubs are in a different place and we have to move with that,” Oliver continues. “You can’t get cask ale anywhere else than the pub, and the consumer is starting to get that.

“People are engaging with the brands in a way they haven’t done in a long time.”

Brand engagement​

Tenants at Robinsons’ 360 pubs are engaging with the brands, too, and seem to have appreciated the fact that the managing directors themselves went out changing pumpclips to make sure the job was done in all 360 pubs in only three days.

“We should get out more often,” says Oliver. “It was great to get around and chat to our licensees. It really was good fun.”

“It was also about connecting with our licensees and talking to them about the beer — and they’re genuinely excited,” adds William.

Although there’s a comfortable overlap between their two roles, Oliver is broadly in charge of the brewing, and William the pubs. Recent years, he admits, have been challenging for tenants.

“We’ve reduced the size of the estate, but that’s a reflection of the marketplace. We’re still committed to a good-quality estate that’s viable for the licensees and for us. And deciding which businesses are viable is an evolving process.

“Traditional community boozers are really struggling. We have discussions with tenants about how they are refocusing the business — being more responsive, improving their marketing and changing the offer, and even licensees who have been with us for 20 years are thinking about the future in that way.

“In the past five years we have spent a lot of time and money on tenant support, and I think that has helped licensees feel more willing to change. They have taken on bits of advice from us that have helped their business and made it easier to have conversations about the way they should change.

“And because the consumer is more discerning it has helped everyone refocus on what the priorities are. It’s a slow-burn, but there has been dramatic progress. A few years ago tenants might have thought it was ‘Big Brother’ intruding on their business, but not now.”

Managing the tenants​

A new induction programme is helping the tenants get it right from day one, and a retail standards programme has been launched as well. Also, a director of retail operations is to be appointed who will “take an overview, engage with licensees and drive forward change”.

Unusually for a tenanted pub estate, Robinsons carries out mystery visits of its pubs and gives the licensees feedback.

Confirming the end of the Big Brother mentality, it’s “gone down well”, says William. “Tenants have been enthusiastic and it’s shown how much they value customer feedback. And with Facebook and Twitter you can’t hide these days.

“Pubs are the foundation of our business and that won’t change,” he goes on. “Agreements will continue to be based on a traditional tenancy, but they will evolve to allow good licensees to make things work for themselves and for us — and that means flexibility.”

There are no plans to relax the tie, but Robinsons has selected two pubs — the Castle in Manchester and the Black Horse in Preston, Lancashire — to be ‘beer shrines’, serving a number of guest ales alongside its own brands.

“We hope to do more. It’s what 25 to 35-year-old cask drinkers want. The new generation has a passion for cask ale. It wants choice, and ales to be presented differently. The draught products sold in our pubs are our unique selling point.”

Both William and Oliver are aware, though, that beer-volume growth will need to come from beyond the Robinsons tied estate, and a lot of investment is going into sales to freetrade national accounts, where they aim to take volume from 11,000 barrels up to 26,000 by 2014.

“Exports are also showing phenomenal growth, from zero in 2010 to 1,500 barrels in 2011,” says Oliver. “And we are heading for 4,000-plus barrels in 2012, thanks in part to the success in America of our strong ale Old Tom.”

The cousins, though, are determined that Robinsons will stay loyal to its values. And as William says: “It’s not just us two.”

Indeed, there are nine members of his generation, five of them board members, working in every part of the business from distribution to property and brand management.

“As a family we’ve always been hands-on and we’ll continue to be, making sure we are engaged with our licensees.”

“We have a vision, but we’ll only get people to understand it if we’re out and about talking to tenants,” adds Oliver. “We need to hire people who can free us up to do that, and bring in ideas from outside.

“William and I love what we do and enjoy being here. But we’ve got to have great people around us to help deliver our strategies."

Key dates​

1838​
William Robinson purchases the Unicorn pub in Stockport

1849​
His son, George, takes over and starts brewing

1982​
Robinsons acquires Hartleys Brewery in Cumbria

1998​
Oliver Robinson begins his career at the brewery after working for Tarmac subsidiary Buxton Lime, Adidas and as a recruitment consultant

1999​
William leaves his career as an architect to join the brewery

2003​
Oliver and William, along with three other members of their generation, are elected to the company board

2011​
New Robinsons brewhouse comes on stream

2012​
Oliver and William become joint managing directors