Independent Liquor Group (ILG) has delivered another record-breaking year, with sales reaching $530.1 million in FY25, despite challenging trading conditions and heightened acquisition activity in Queensland.
Speaking to members during ILG’s Study Tour in Spain and Portugal, CEO Paul Esposito said the group’s resilience shone through in a climate where consumers tightened spending, redirected income to pay down debt, and faced rising cost-of-living pressures.
“We didn’t lose any business because of anything we did wrong – it was largely down to acquisitions, particularly the activity of a large listed group in Queensland,” Esposito said. “That represented around $20 million worth of business, but we’ve already started to rebuild.”
Strong sales volumes
Over the past financial year, ILG sold more than 1.7 million cases and 112,000 kegs of beer, alongside 1.3 million cases of RTDs, 602,000 cases of spirits, 1.2 million cases of wine, and 600,000 cases of soft drinks, mixers and other beverages. This equated to a total of 5.4 million cases sold through ILG’s warehouses, with service levels consistently sitting above 97 per cent despite ongoing labour shortages.
ILG’s banners each recorded growth across the year. Fleet Street lifted revenue by 1.2 per cent across its 36 stores, while Super Cellars increased revenue by 4.5 per cent with 338 stores in the network. Bottler grew revenue by 0.7 per cent across its 396 stores, and ILG’s other banners achieved a significant 42 per cent revenue uplift across 856 stores.
“Against the backdrop of Woolworths and Coles both reporting downturns in their liquor divisions, our banners continue to outperform,” Esposito said.
In terms of state-by-state results, New South Wales grew by 4.6 per cent, and with more than 1,057 customers, it now accounts for 54 per cent of ILG’s business. Queensland declined by three per cent, a result of both the large publically listed group’s acquisitions and the lingering impact of severe weather events that failed to deliver the usual recovery bounce in sales. In Victoria, ILG exited a local warehousing partnership due to system incompatibilities but has since reported stronger growth by servicing members directly from New South Wales.
What’s next for ILG
Looking ahead, Esposito highlighted a number of key priorities. ILG will relocate to a new Queensland hub at its Swanbank facility near Ipswich, with stock transition scheduled to begin in November and expected to take around three weeks. The group is also investing heavily in e-commerce as online liquor sales continue to grow at around 30 per cent year-on-year, while a new rewards program will allow members to run in-store loyalty schemes to drive customer engagement.
Esposito also emphasised the importance of new product development, noting that more than 70 per cent of ILG’s growth over the past year came from NPD.
“Please embrace it, because that’s where the growth is,” he said.
This year marks ILG’s 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated with a three-day event and Annual General Meeting later in the year.
Reflecting on the group’s journey, Esposito told members: “In 1975, ILG was born out of the vision of a few gentlemen. Today we own more than $100 million in assets and continue to grow stronger together as a cooperative.”
Here’s some more highlights from the second day of the 2025 ILG Study Tour: