Like this Liquor Barons ad for the Coronation that tickled funny bones and went viral, it was all smiles at the 2023 Liquor Barons conference in Italy.
Held in Rome and Florence, the weekend started with a full day of conferencing and an informative Italian Wine Masterclass.
General Manager Liquor Barons Chris O’Brien welcomed delegates attending this year’s international conference and presented the current trading environment including the outlook for the year ahead.
The Liquor Barons’ impressive performance, particularly in an increasingly difficult trading environment, highlighted the work that has been done during and immediately post the impact of COVID.
“Our cooperative model is something to be proud of. It allows decisions made by retailers for retailers. We are nimble, entrepreneurial and focused on being at the front edge of the curve,” Chris O’Brien said.
On general market conditions and how Liquor Barons has performed, O’Brien said, “We are starting to see the move to value, whilst our positioning remains premium and specialist.
“During COVID, it was clear consumers tried their local retailers, and they are staying. Our performance is ahead of our counterparts, and it’s a credit to you and your stores. You knew your customers’ names and carried their purchase to the car, and they have remembered that,” O’Brien said whilst addressing the members.
In the last six months, Liquor Barons has restructured its marketing team, bringing in design, content creation, and digital marketing expertise. The team was on hand to present their work and show retailers how they can support them to get more customers to their stores.
And back to that hilarious ad, what a success it was. The ad shell owners loved it so much Liquor Barons were given multiple outdoor sites for free. It’s enough to turn a consumer from a Royalist into a Liquor Baron.
