Landlord says supermarkets encourage binge drinking
Thursday 6th May 2010, 11:47AM BST.
A Shropshire landlord today accused supermarkets of encouraging binge drinking as bosses continued to cut the price of beer to the equivalent of as little as 48p a pint.
Asda sold 24-can cases of Boddingtons bitter for £9 last week and offered the same deal on Blackthorn cider. The price equates to 48p a pint — less than a fifth of what drinkers are charged in a pub.
Meanwhile Tesco sold 24-can cases of branded beer for £10, or 54p a pint, while Sainsbury’s sold 15-can cases of Foster’s and Carling for £9, or 77p a pint.
Sainsbury’s said both beers were on promotion for the Bank Holiday at £9, and were now selling for £11.The average cost of a pub pint of Boddingtons costs £2.80, while Foster’s sells for £2.90.
John Ellis, landlord of the Crown Inn in Oakengates, said he hoped moves would be made to bring a stop to such cut-price deals following today’s election.
Irresponsible
Mr Ellis today backed the stance of the British Beer and Pub Association which said in a statement: “These bargain basement booze offers are irresponsible and indefensible.
“We call for the same robust action to be taken against the irresponsible promotion of alcohol by supermarkets as has been taken against pubs.
“The law now bans irresponsible promotions in pubs and, as we have consistently argued, the same should apply to supermarkets, which sell over two-thirds of the alcohol drunk in Britain.”
He added: “There is no doubt these offers fuel unsupervised, irresponsible drinking on the streets, in parks and public places, causing problems for local communities in stark contrast to the supervised social drinking that takes place in pubs.”
But the British Retail Consortium said supermarkets were not to blame for irresponsible drinking.
BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “Irresponsible drinking is not about price, it’s a cultural issue, as many police officers recognise.”
By Tracey O’Sullivan
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Most people who buy beer from supermarkets aren’t enjoying it in parks and on benches but in the comfort of their own homes. Why shouldn’t those people benefit from the massive buying power that the supermarkets have, why should they be punished just because they don’t want to drink in your pub?
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I have to agree with you Bob.Just because I buy a case of beer from the supermarket it does not mean Im going to drink it in one session,it will last me a couple of weeks.I much prefer to drink in the comfort and safety of my own home.
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I agree with both Bob and Debbie. Why should people who don’t want to go to a pub be penalised for being able to buy drink at this price. Not every one can afford the pub prices.
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I agree, I never enter pubs and have no desire to either. On the rare occasion that I do enjoy a drink with friends its in the comfort and safety of my own home!
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This is all about competition, supply and demand, cost, personal preference and the ability to diversify.
If pubs want to continue to trade they shouldn’t look to supermarkets as an excuse. People chose where they want to drink and what they are prepared to pay.
Maybe local pubs should encourage trade with new beers, sensible pricing and good pub grub at reasonable prices, along with a community spirit to become an integral part of their village or town.
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I wouldn’t say that supermarkets actively encourage binge drinking, but with those prices they certainly make it easier for people who have those kind of tendencies to get it down their necks in large quantities.
Supermarkets don’t compete 100% with John’s pub, as he provides something which they cannot – fantastic and varied cask conditioned ales in convivial surroundings – which is something that’s very hard to replicate at home. That’s the Crown’s main differentiator. Other pubs, with very little that’s unique on offer, don’t fare so well and they’re the ones that you tend to see with boards up at the windows.
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This gripe is not about binge drinking, it is about competitive trading.
If Supermarket beer is that cheap, Landlords could buy from the Supermarket and sell, adding their usual margin.
That way, even more profit could be made from an item which is made largely from water.
Supermarkets can sell beer at a price to suit the field and they can not be held responsible for consumers individual behaviour.
£2.90 is a rediculous price for a pint of Larger anyway! No wonder Pubs are being forced to close, the price of the product being the main reason. It could be said that the price of beer has been raised over the years, to make up for the gradual reduction in customers, in an effort by Landlords to maintain the same income, but there is a limit.
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Correct me if i’m wrong but landlords who have a Free House are the only ones that can buy from supermarkets etc, managers/tenants have to buy from the greedy breweries or management companies, hence the high prices, this is why I believe we are loosing all of our pubs.
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And having Netto supermarkets built over them instead!
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Perhaps the supermarkets should start opening pubs too, obviously they have great buying power and get beer at good rates, so we could benefit and so could they.
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There are too many pubs anyway. If more pubs were to close then there would be more drinkers per pub making them more profitable, and with them being more profitable then more money would be available to invest in them to make them more appealing!
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Im alright jack attitude from the people who dont suffer from anti social behaviour who arnt tortured every friday and saturday night. keep those curtains closed in your leafy suburbs.
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Maybe landlords should cut there profit margins a bit, if supermarkets can sell at those prices are you really saying the experts in this field (the landlord/ladies) can’t get the same deals off there suppliers??????
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Is it me, or is John Ellis landlord of The Crown inn at Oakengates, in “The Star” every month?? Does he know someone who works there? I think we should be told!
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Beer works out about £23 a gallon, including all taxes this seems to make petrol cheap, How can the brewerys justify such a price?someone is making a lot of money somewhere.
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If you are a tenant, you are not allowed to buy alcohol from any other supplier, only from the company you are tied to. As a tenant, you can only charge what your company tells you to charge for a pint of beer or your spirits. This being the case a tenant landlord has got his/her hands tied and cannot lower the price to match the supermarkets. Only a private landlord is able to vary his/her prices on wet goods. This is the reason so many tenanted pubs are closing around Telford and the rest of the country. A tenanted pub, only makes pence per pint profit, unlike a private landlord, who can decide how much profit per pint they want.
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Me and the wife can sit in our own home and enjoy an evening having a few drinks for under £10 or we can go out to a pub, get a taxi there and back and kiss goodbye to £40 – £50. I wish landlords would stop blaming supermarkets for selling cheap beer, supermarkets sell everything cheap and i know that a lot of landlords use supermarkets for there food they sell at their pubs because they are cheaper to buy from than cash and carrys now ( i know this because i own my own catering buisiness ). I don’t hear the big restaurants slamming the pubs for selling cheaper food than them.
As for the pubs saying it causes binge drinking i think they want to look at others in their own trade who sell the cheap booze, like certain youngster pubs and clubs. I think it is a shame that pubs are closing but they don’t want to blame supermarkets, they want to look at the goverment for the taxes on beer and the smoking ban, and the big greedy brewery companies.
Would love to stop and write more but i have to go to the fridge and get another 48p pint.
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People drink more at home now because the service nd value for money in a lot of Pubs is so dire there is no incentive to go out anymore. The great british pub is dead instead its been replaced by the Mcdonalds style service that Wetherspoons have adopted.
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he’s totally right
we need a minimum price per litre this would mean no increase for real ale, wine and pub drinks but increase the price of e.g. vodka, cheap cider etc
lets get on and get this policy implemented ASAP for the sake of our health and economy
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i’m 36 & hav’nt set foot in a pub for 10 years & don’t care to in the near future.
i was a regular pub drinker from age 17-26,but the pub’s in telford just ain’t what they used to be.
their overpriced,most of them the atmosphere & attitude of the people that drink in them sucks,you can’t smoke,the quality of the pint is inconsistent & no way justified in the over inflated prices & the effort of people wanting to bother just is’nt there any more.
it’s more enjoyable & cost effective to buy from supermarkets & drink at home with friends,& not wake up the next morning with regrets of an empty wallet from an average at best night out in a pub/club filled with youngsters that can’t handle their drink or tone.
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It looks like the drink has addled your brain based upon your shocking use of English.
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Correcting peoples spelling/ grammar is NOT contributing to the discussion and just makes you sound very petty, please try and refrain from such action in the future. There are people out there who are dyslexic (like myself) and struggle with spelling. If you can understand what someone is trying to say, leave it there. Don’t try to make people feel bad about themselves/ make yourself feel clever weather intentional or not.
Back to the point in hand….. I agree with most of the comments above, if pubs were more pleasant places to be and prices were more appropriate then I would undoubtedly frequent them more often. Sadly I fear by the time the breweries have figured this out, it will be too late for many landlords.
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Yes, the weather is dreadful.
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Agree with most of the above. Why should I be forced to pay a higher price for beer just to help your business. No other supermarket prices are forced down to protect smaller local business’s. Anyway, the Crown in Oakengates should be OK with all the free advertising it gets in the Star every week
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I must admit visiting a pub these days is awfully expensive. A large glass of the good house Rose at The Fox at Chetwynd relieves me of £6.60 :yikes:
Having said that, a good night down at The Crown is priceless!
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