Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Retail |
Headquarters | Hawthorn East, Victoria , |
Number of locations | ~1000 stores (2023) |
Key people | Greg Davis, [1] Director, Coles Liquor |
Products | Liquor |
Parent | Coles Group |
Website | liquorland |
Liquorland is an Australian liquor store chain. It is one of three liquor brands within the Coles Group, [2] along with the larger discount format First Choice Liquor and more upmarket orientated Vintage Cellars. The Liquorland chain comprised 743 stores as of March 2023. [3]
Coles Supermarkets established interests with its expansion into liquor in 1981, with the acquisition of Liquorland and Vintage Cellars. [4] [5] In November 2007 Wesfarmers acquired the Coles Group and as a result the separate Coles division was formed, but was again demerged on 21 November 2018. [6]
Most Liquorland outlets are adjacent to or within Coles Supermarkets, except in Queensland, where legislation forbids this practice. In order to maintain a presence, Liquorland operated the Spirit Hotel chain, which comprised 87 hotels as of March 2019 (76 in Queensland, seven in South Australia and four in Western Australia). [7]
Wesfarmers had long expressed discomfort about the poker machines in Spirit Hotel's pubs and had been trying to sell its hotel portfolio while retaining its lucrative liquor store business. [8] [9] In March 2019, Coles established a joint venture with Australian Venue Co. (AVC) where AVC would take over operations of the hotels and receive its profits while Coles would run the liquor stores and receive its profits. If AVC purchased further hotels in Queensland, Coles would also have the right to operate existing liquor stores attached to the hotels or open new stores using the hotels' liquor licenses. Coles received $200 million from AVC as part of the deal. [10] [11] [12]
Beginning in 2020, Liquorland began transitioning stores to a new, more upmarket visual identity. [13] [3] In August 2022, the first Liquorland store was opened in Tasmania. [14] In February 2024, Coles Liquor reached an agreement to acquire all 20 of Federal Group's 9/11 liquor stores in Tasmania. [15] The stores were subsequently rebranded as Liquorland. [16]
In January 2013 Coles released a range of beers under the brand Steamrail Brewing Company. [18] The beers, 'Ghost of Eyre' Pale ale, 'Gold Digger' Golden Ale and 'Lucky Amber' Amber Ale, were stocked in First Choice Liquor and Liquorland outlets. All the bottles bear the company name, Steamrail Brewing, and the address of the Coles Supermarkets' headquarters. [19] [20] The Steamrail Brewing Company range is brewed at the Asahi Breweries plant in Laverton, Victoria. [21]
Liquorland exclusive beer brands also include Hammer 'N' Tongs, 3 Pub Circus and Lorry Boys. [22] [23]
Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol by volume that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in different beer styles such as lagers, stouts, and ales. Low-alcohol beer is also known as light beer, non-alcoholic beer, small beer, small ale, or near-beer.
Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operates 846 supermarkets throughout Australia, including several now re-branded Bi-Lo Supermarkets. Coles has over 120,000 employees and accounts for around 27 per cent of the Australian market. Coles' large head office site in Melbourne's inner south-east has 4,000 employees of the workforce located inside.
Flybuys is an Australian customer loyalty program equally owned by the Coles Group and Wesfarmers through joint venture Loyalty Pacific. Members can accrue points by shopping at Coles Group brands, certain Wesfarmers brands, and some third-party partners like HCF Health Insurance, Coles Express and Optus. Points can then be redeemed for money off purchases at Coles Supermarkets, Coles Express, Liquorland, Kmart, Officeworks, Target and mycar, as well as holidays and household goods.
Kmart Australia Limited is an Australian chain of retail department stores owned by the Kmart Group division of Wesfarmers.
A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors, wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence, off-sale, bottle shop, bottle store or, colloquially, bottle-o, liquor store or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used.
Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue of A$43.5 billion in the 2023 financial year, it is one of Australia's largest companies by revenue. Wesfarmers is also one of the largest private employers in Australia, with approximately 107,000 employees.
Federal Group is a privately owned family company which operates tourism, hospitality, retail, and a national sensitive freight company but is primarily known for their casino and gaming assets in Tasmania which is described as "a licence to print money". In the past the company has been known as both "Federal Hotels" or "Federal Hotels and Resorts".
Dan Murphy's is an Australian liquor store owned by Endeavour Group, with over 250 stores across the country. The business was founded in 1952 by winemaker Daniel Francis Murphy. Dan Murphy's competes principally with Coles Group brands First Choice Liquor, Vintage Cellars and Liquorland.
Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of liquor through its Coles Liquor outlets. Since its foundation in Collingwood, Victoria in 1914, Coles has grown to become the second-largest retailer in Australia after its principal rival, Woolworths, in terms of revenue.
An Australian pub or hotel is a public house or pub for short, in Australia, and is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. They may also provide other services, such as entertainment, meals and basic accommodation.
First Choice Liquor Market is a group of liquor superstores in Australia owned by Coles Group, and competes principally with the Endeavour Group-owned Dan Murphy's chain as a big-box retailer in the takeaway liquor market.
Alcohol laws of Australia are laws that regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The legal drinking age is 18 throughout Australia. The minimum age for the purchase of alcoholic products in Australia is 18. A licence is required to produce or sell alcohol.
Alcohol has been consumed in New Zealand since the arrival of Europeans. The most popular alcoholic beverage is beer. The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18. New Zealand has an above average consumption rate of alcohol, in 2016 ranking 32nd globally in per-capita total alcohol consumption.
Gambling is an activity undertaken by many Australians. In 2022, 72.8% of Australian adults gambled within the previous 12 months and 38% of Australian adults gambled at least once per week. In 2017, Australians were estimated to lead the world with the highest gambling losses on a per-capita basis.
Resch's is a brand of beer produced by Carlton & United Breweries, available in New South Wales, Australia. It was also the name of the Sydney brewing company who produced the beer brand and were based in Redfern until taken over by Tooth & Co in 1929.
Endeavour Group Ltd (EG) is an Australian alcoholic drinks retailer, hotel operator, and poker machine operator that was spun off from Woolworths Group in 2021.
Australian Venue Co. (AVC), is a hospitality company in Australia that owns and operates over 200 venues across the country.
Bruce Mathieson is an Australian businessman, sometimes referred to as a 'billionaire pub baron'. He is known for his influence in the Australian pub, hotel, and gambling sectors.