Australian Liquor Marketers (ALM) has spent the first half of 2023 continuing to drive its single-minded strategy of Famous, Frictionless and Sticky.
CEO Chris Baddock explains this strategy as being “famous for the right offer and brands, frictionless in the best core processes and sticky in the value creation for retailers and suppliers.”
Most recently in this quest, the group launched ALM Connect, a one stop shop for all ALM customers. It gives retailers access to products not available in the warehouse through their existing ordering processes, while enabling suppliers to make available their more local, unique, and tailored products to the entire network base. With on average 50 products being onboarded to the site daily, this platform gives ALM retailers and on-premise venues the ability to offer exactly what their shoppers and consumers are wanting.
And the busy start to the year doesn’t stop there, with the highly anticipated launch of One Stop Shop due to come later this year, and more excitingly, ALM One Stop Shop is available to both retail and on-premise customers. This will be a single channel of communication for all ALM customers, from delivery details to new products and marketing campaigns, all tailored to the individual store or venue.
ALM’s network of the future extends into the store level too, with the team focusing on shifting the loyalty program from pilot to launch. Baddock said this recently drove the launch of My Bottle-O rewards.
“The pilot has been a success with basket size for loyalty purchases much higher than the average transaction,” Baddock said.
“With demand from retailers to join and sign up to the loyalty program growing across both The Bottle-O and Cellarbrations, it is just another way retailers are rewarding their shoppers and keeping them coming back.”
Loyalty will continue to be of the utmost importance in coming months, as CPI increases, interest rate rises and the cost-of-living crunch lead to shoppers who are more aware of their wallets. These shoppers are seeking value but also quality, which has helped drive great success in ALM’s owned and exclusive portfolio.
“We have spent the past few years building our owned and exclusive portfolio, which not only drives a point of difference for our retailers but offers a range of products giving great margin and very competitive prices for shoppers,” said Baddock.
“Products like Cougar RTD launched recently in the value bourbon space and POETS beer is one of our fastest growing beers sitting in the value space. And our wine portfolio was recently awarded eight medals at the International Wine Challenge.”
ALM believes shoppers will be looking for value adds across not only liquor, but across all retail categories. However, the group knows it will continue to drive shoppers in-store thanks to a strong focus on promotional programs (and more importantly, prices locked programs), as well as e-commerce online exclusive deals and rewarding shoppers with consistent competitive prices and an expanded loyalty program.
ALM is set to announce its full year results to the market 26 June.