Bar-price war brewing?

Press, 1 June 1982, Page 6

Bar-price war brewing?

PA Auckland Dominion Breweries yesterday fired what could be the first shot in a price war between New Zealand’s two big breweries when it released; its new public bar prices for beer and spirits. Although prices have risen since the recent lifting of price controls on liquor, D.B. has announced increases in public bar beer and spirit prices that consistently undercut those announced by Lion Breweries last week. The Government hoped competition would govern prices instead of formal price controls — an idea that some observers regarded as forlorn because of the domination of the-New Zealand liquor industry by the two breweries. ? ’ However, price rises announced yesterday by D.B. undercut those prices being charged in Lion hotels in nearly every case. A D.B. spokesman said that a jug of beer would sell for $1.60 in the .50-odd D.B. hotels as opposed to the $1.63 being charged by Lion. The old price was $1.48. Asked whether D.B. prices were set deliberately to un-

dercut Lion, the spokesman declined to comment. Both companies, when announcing the increase in the prices of beer and spirits, stated their desire to keep further rises to a mimimum and the managing director of D. 8., Mr. J. R. Fletcher, pledged "a firm intention of not increasing our prices for at least the next six months.” However, like a spokesman for Lion, he said that was contingent on the Government’s not increasing excise and sales tax — a possibility for this year’s Budget. The D.B. prices, with Lion prices next and then the old prices for both in parenthesis, are as follows:— A jug of beer, D.B. $1.60, Lion $1.63 ($1.48); ,140 ml glasses, 32c, 33c (29c); 200 ml glasses, 38c, 40c (35c); 340 ml glasses, 57c, 60c (53c); pints, 82c, 86c (76c); whisky, 75c a nip, 80c (70c); bourbon, 70c, 74c (66c); rum, 70c, 69c (63c); brandy, 60c, 63c (57c); vodka, gin, and square gin, 60c, 60 (54c). The difference in prices means that, on the sample shown above, Lion has increased its prices by an average of 12.21 per Cent as against 8.31 per cent for D.B.