Finally the Supermarkets are under the spot light for something that we in the industry have been for ages, and hopefully this will only help the on trade. Binge drinking has always been the fault of the late night economy when a great proportion of the problems are generated at home because of the supermarket deals. Monitoring how much somebody drinks has always been a big point that has governed our operational aspect of the trade, and rightly so, we ensure that the person who has had too much to drink either doesnt get served anymore or doesnt even get through the door – Yet Supermarkets are happy to sell the local pisshead, 48 cans of Stella for £20, hiding behind the theory (excuse) that they have sold them with the belief that he is having a party and not propping up the door of the local bookies with urine stains growing rapidly in his trousers.
Asda today have announced that they will stop selling alcohol between midnight and 6am. Wow!! Please note the massive amount of sarcasm in the “WOW”. The industry has been in decline for a number of years now, with very few of us out performing the year on year like for like sales. I understand that there has been a number of significant changes to our business including the smoking ban and the license reform, however I believe that the combined effects from the license reform and the supermarkets offers are hugely responsible for this down turn in trade.
