A record 380 liquor retailers, suppliers, representatives and key industry stakeholders from across NSW and the ACT were in attendance to celebrate excellence in the retail liquor industry at the 2015 Retail Liquor Industry Awards for Excellence Presentation Dinner at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth last Friday. LSA NSW Executive Director Michael Waters said, “Tonight’s record attendance mirrors the 30 per cent increase in the number of nominations we received for this ...

Diageo Australia has appointed Simon Tamke as Commercial Director, effective immediately. Tamke has been acting in the role since late September, following David Halliday’s resignation. Simon joined Diageo Australia in November 2012 as State Manager for SA/NT and Head of Third Party before being promoted to Head of Key Accounts in July 2013. Recently appointed Diageo Australia Managing Director, David Smith said: “In the short time I’ve worked with Simon, he has shown ...

New findings published by Roy Morgan Research this week, further confirm that Woolworths Limited owned liquor stores, Dan Murphy’s and BWS, are dominating Coles owned and independent liquor retailers. The data shows both Dan Murphy’s and BWS are leading by market share and total customers. In any given week, 1.2 million Australians (representative of 23.9 per cent of total alcohol-buyers) are choosing to shop at Dan Murphy’s, spending an average of $67 each purchase ...

Stolen Spirits, producer of Stolen Rum, has agreed to give US company Liquid Asset Brands LLC (LAB) a majority stake in the business for US$14/AU$19 million. The significant investment from LAB will provide Stolen Spirits with the growth capital it needs to expand its portfolio further, with plans to produce a smoked whiskey and several other rums next year. Based in Chicago, the partnership with LAB will also leverage Stolen Spirits’ portfolio into the ...

The purchase of SABMiller by Anheuser-Bush InBev (AB InBev) has been agreed upon and in a joint statement this morning, both parties announced that a Belgian company, called Newco - set up for the purposes of the transaction - will acquire SABMiller. AB InBev will then merge with Newco and become the world’s largest brewer. The final deal saw SABMiller purchased for just over US$107bn. The transaction, comprising a cash ...

Retailers are celebrating a significant milestone in NSW, following the passing of a reform by the NSW Government and NSW Legislation Council that will allow all retail in the state to trade on Boxing Day. Many have been calling for the existing trading laws to be reassessed for a number of years, saying they are no longer up to date with today’s retail landscape. Retailers have also called the Retail Trading Act ...

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) announced its new Board members on Tuesday this week, at its 26th annual general meeting. The appointed Board Directors will step into their new roles for the 2015-2016 year, working alongside Tony D’Aloisio AM (pictured above), who will continue to stand as President of the Federation. The incoming WFA Directors include: Small Winemakers’ Membership Representatives on the Board David O’Leary, O’Leary Walker Wines (Chair) Redmond Sweeny, ...

Vic Patrick, Chair of Wine Grape Growers Australia will retire this month. Patrick has been a member of the grape and wine community for 40 years.  Brian Walsh, Chair of Wine Australia thanked Patrick for his contribution in announcement on Tuesday. “Vic has been the Chair of Wine Grape Growers Australia for the last five years as well as one of the South Australian representatives”, Walsh said. “In this time, he ...

Bill Hardy, Global Brand Ambassador and fifth generation winemaking family member for Hardys Wines, has announced that 2016 will be his last year with the family company. Bill has been with the family company for 44 years and will now prepare to pass on the baton to his daughter, Alix Hardy. Joining the company at the young age of 21, Bill has seen Hardys Wines grow from a revered family wine ...

Leading alcohol distributor, Lion, has launched an initiative that will see the company commit to being more transparent in the labelling of its beers. New labelling will now include information about the sugar and preservative content of Lion’s beers. The company says that it hopes the next stage of its campaign, ‘Beer the Beautiful Truth’, will challenge consumers’ misconceptions of the category and prove that the majority of Lion’s beers are sugar and preservative free. The second phase of ...