Liquorland
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Headquarters
Hawthorn East, Victoria
,

Australia
Number of locations
~1000 stores (2023)
Key people
Greg Davis,[1] Director, Coles Liquor
ProductsLiquor
ParentColes Group
Websiteliquorland.com.au

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]

History

Old Liquorland logo

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]

Liquorland store in Gosnells, Western Australia with older branding

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]

Sub-brands

  • Liquorland Express — drive-through and compact Liquorland stores.
  • Liquorland Warehouse[14] — a larger, 'big-box'-style format promoting higher-volume purchases.
  • Liquorland Direct — Liquorland's online and mail/phone order business.

Steamrail Brewing Company

In January 2013 Coles released a range of beers under the brand Steamrail Brewing Company.[15] 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.[16][17] The Steamrail Brewing Company range is brewed at the Asahi Breweries plant in Laverton, Victoria.[18]

Liquorland exclusive beer brands also include Hammer 'N' Tongs, 3 Pub Circus and Lorry Boys.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ "Coles reshuffles its liquor lineup with Rudd adviser Andrew Charlton sidelined". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Coles Division". Wesfarmers. Archived from the original on 26 December 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  3. 1 2 Alexander, Angela (2023-03-29). "Liquorland Refreshes Brand Identity Via Hulsbosch". B&T. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  4. ↑ "Our History". www.coles.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  5. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  6. ↑ "Our history". www.wesfarmers.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  7. ↑ "Portfolio of 87 Coles pubs sold to Australian Venue Co for $200m". The Hotel Conversation. 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  8. ↑ Hatch, Patrick (2018-09-04). "Coles committed to pokies exit after spin-off, says Wesfarmers boss". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  9. ↑ Hatch, Patrick (2018-05-30). "Coles wants to punt pubs but won't give up the drink altogether". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  10. ↑ Hatch, Patrick (2019-03-04). "Coles punts pubs and pokies in $200m joint-venture deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  11. ↑ Hawtin-Butcher, Craig (2019-03-06). "Coles offloads hotels and pokies to Australian Venue Co". The Shout. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  12. ↑ House, Alana (2021-03-06). "Australian Venue Co takes over Coles pubs in Queensland". Drinks Bulletin. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  13. ↑ House, Alana (2020-08-19). "Coles trials bold new look for Liquorland". Drinks Trade. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  14. ↑ Liquorland trialling new warehouse format, by The Shout Team 27 May 2013. (Accessed 2022-06-07.)
  15. ↑ "CHOICE asks how Aussie is our craft beer?". Consumers Federation of Australia. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  16. ↑ Atkinson, James (18 January 2013). "Coles launches Steamrail Brewing Co". The Shout. The Intermedia Group. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  17. ↑ Kirkegaard, Matt (6 February 2013). "Who is the Steamrail Brewing Company?". Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Craft Beer Sold as Local when Actually Imported Interstate". News.com.au. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Coles puts face to private label beer". Australian Brews News. 2015-10-23. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  20. ↑ "FREEMAN HAMMER 'N' TONGS - 1652175". Intellectual Property Australia. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
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