It seems the credit crunch is taking its toll on having a bit of home brew as sales of beer in supermarkets and off-licences has fallen at alarming rates and figures are much worse than beer sales in pubs - it seems having a beer at home is another unnecessary luxury!
According to the British Beer & Pub Association, sales of beer outside drinking establishments declined by 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2009. A spokesman from the BBPA said, “It is the biggest quarterly decline [in off-trade] sales since the last recession.”
The slowing down in the market of off trade beer sales added to the already failing beer sales - with an overall 8.2 per cent decrease - which makes it the largest decline in beer sales since 1997. Beer sold in bars, restaurants and clubs went down by 6.3 per cent - that means 753,000 less pints every day in the first months of 2009. That is equivalent to 1.7 million less pints drank in that quarter, compared to the same period in 2008. Are we becoming a nation of teetotallers?
Undoubtedly the slump of beer sales will have a knock on effect with the big wigs at the Treasury, which recently announced alcohol excise duty was going up by 2 per cent in the Budget - which means an extra 1p a pint. The BBPA’s chief executive said, “With the Budget last week, government tax policy continues to make this situation worse.” The BBPA revealed that tax income from alcohol dropped by £17 million in January and February even though tax had been raised a massive 18 per cent during the period.
Analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, Paul Hickman, cited the good weather in March compared to March 2008 as a possible reason for the decline in off-trade sales. Although some pub companies are quietly enjoying slightly improved sales in recent weeks, Hickman added, “there is no hint that things are getting easier”. However, the big supermarket players are reporting record sales in beer, suggesting the real sufferers are off-licences.
