In the annual banner group feature of the June issue of National Liquor News, John Carmody, Managing Director of Liquor Legends, talks about capitalising on the group’s strengths.
National Liquor News: How has Liquor Legends been faring in 2021 so far?
John Carmody: Liquor Legends is extremely proud to show continued growth month-on-month into the first quarter of 2021. Considering we are lapping such huge growth during 2020, continuing to grow is a massive feat. If we look at our performance in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 2020, we are 27 per cent up.
We are seeing many of the trends continue, with a reduction in basket size being the only key performance indicator in the red and this was expected. We are projecting that our strong performance will continue throughout this year where we believe we will exceed last year’s numbers month on month.
NLN: Reflecting on 2020, is there one particular learning that stands out for you?
JC: Consumers are lazy! The industry, and Liquor Legends specifically, saw an unbelievable increase in RTD sales. Full bottle spirits came along for the ride but not to the same level. Customers weren’t afraid to spend more for what they wanted during COVID, despite the potential for savings.
NLN: What is the focus at Liquor Legends at the moment?
JC: Getting our digital marketing and e-commerce firing the same way our in-store trade is. We are still relatively new to this space and have made incredible progress here, yet we have a lot left untapped.
We are excited to continue to change the way we trade as a business and refresh our ongoing strategy to fit to our consumers’ needs and deliver the best in class service we are known for in an omni-channel arena.
NLN: What have been some the biggest opportunities and challenges for Liquor Legends recently?
JC: The biggest opportunities laid in our e-commerce and digital marketing channels. We were already in the final stage of development, however we had to launch slightly early when COVID took full effect. This is a brand new channel for our business that is bringing new consumers to our website and stores which we never had before.
The biggest challenges were in ensuring the product offering was right for what the consumers wanted at the right periods. In the early days of the pandemic we were not sure how the market would react and had to react daily. As time went on we were able to understand where customer shopping behaviour was trending, however as restrictions lifted, we weren’t certain whether customers would revert to old habits, or maintain their new way of life.
NLN: What would you say are the biggest strengths of Liquor Legends right now?
JC: Our fully integrated ecosystem across the entire business. Everything is working harmoniously across all of our customer facing touch points. We are able to turn anything on in a short period of time. We are able to focus on the future and react to the market easily. We are in the strongest position we have ever been in and we still haven’t reached our ceiling yet.
Find this interview and the rest of the annual banner group feature in the June issue of National Liquor News.