As the COVID-19 pandemic grips Australia, groups of more than 100 inside are banned and further restrictions likely, they are major concerns regarding how the hospitality will survive.
With that in mind TheShout has contacted many of the major suppliers asking what their actions are during this crisis.
Here is what the country’s two biggest brewers, Lion and Carlton and United Breweries had to say.
A spokesperson for CUB said: “We are nothing without our customers, including those in the on-prem.
“To support them during this unprecedented time we’re offering extended credit terms, effective 19 March until 27 March 2020. The extended credit will be for two weeks and is available to approved customers.
“We are continuing to discuss the Federal Government’s response with the Australian Hotels Association and how we can support an industry that has always supported us.
“For more information, on-prem customers should contact their BDE or call 13 BEER.”
A spokesperson for Lion said: “We recognise it’s a really tough time for our people as well as our friends and colleagues across the broader hospitality sector.
“Across Lion while many of us are now working from home, our sales team is going above and beyond to remain in regular contact with all of our valued customers far and wide. We are working to understand their individual challenges and how we are best placed to assist.
“We are focused on keeping our breweries up and running so our teams can continue to produce our great beers and minimise the risk of any disruption to supply. We have decided to close our brewery-based hospitality venues temporarily to prioritise manufacturing.
“We believe this is a necessary precaution in order to minimise people movements in and out of our main production areas. This is designed to safeguard our business critical roles in production and supply chain and therefore maintain continuity of supply to our customers.
“In addition, we are working with some customers to arrange direct deliveries due to the current pressure on their distribution centres.
“As of today, we are confident about stock levels and do not see any issues in our network regarding production or delivery. That said, we encourage customers to put plans in place to ensure they have sufficient stock in case there are disruptions. If any issues arise, we will manage them appropriately and communicate with our customers.
“The Lion Connect Portal remains the first point of call for accessing orders and account information. Customers can log in to customerportal.lionco.com to access the portal or request a log-in. Alternatively, customers can call Lion Connect on 13 15 13. Customers and partners can now place any enquiry on the portal and we will attend to the query within 24 hours. Alternatively, customers can email lionconnect@lionco.com.
“We continue to support our customers and partners through the standard channels. We will be in touch regularly as the situation evolves. If customers do have any questions or concerns, please contact the Lion Connect on 13 15 13 or get in touch with your Lion Sales Exec.”