By James Atkinson
Woolworths Liquor Group delivered a strong result for the year ended June 29 across all three formats – Dan Murphy's (Destination), BWS (Convenience) and The Wine Quarter (Online and Direct), the retailer said.
Woolworths Liquor's total sales for the year (including ALH Group on-premise liquor sales) of $7.4 billion represented an increase of 4.6 per cent on the previous year on a normalised 52-week basis, the retailer said.
"Danmurphys.com.au further embedded its position as the premier Australian online liquor destination, being the most visited liquor website in Australia," it said.
"Sales increased more than 55 per cent, with a number of new features added to the website including enhanced delivery options and new customer recommendation functionality."
Woolworths said its hotels business delivered a pleasing result despite regulatory changes and subdued trading conditions in Victoria and Queensland where the majority of hotel sites are located.
Its own brand division Pinnacle Drinks continued to build an exclusive brand portfolio for customers.
"We launched new and innovative products including ‘Minchinbury’ Sparkling Wine, ‘Lovers not Toreadors’ Spanish Tempranillo and ‘Hogs 3’ Bourbon and Cola," the retailer said.
Woolworths' Australian Food and Liquor sales were $41.2 billion, an increase of 4.7 per cent on the prior year, with online sales growth of more than 35 per cent. Comparable sales increased three per cent.