Liquor price war truce?

Press, 27 May 1983, Page 4

Liquor price war truce?

The big guns have been withdrawn from Christchurch’s liquor price war after a week of cost-cutting which saw crates of beer selling at well below cost price. Liquor outlets which took part in the “war” were selling crates of bottled beer for between $5.99 and $6.50. The cost price, minus transport charges, is $9.78 a crate. The outlets admit to losing “thousands of dollars” in the exercise which was, understandably, short-lived. Bottled beer prices have now reverted to about $lO a dozen, still at cost or slightly below, but not likely to cause such dramatic losses for retailers. The focus of price-cutting now seems to be canned beer, wines and spirits,

after what one outlet manager referred to as “an informal truce” between the rivals. They had agreed, the spokesman said, not to advertise quart beer prices, at least for the time being. Other retailers interviewed, however, said they had no knowledge of any such truce. The price war had stopped simply because none of them could sustain such losses over a long period of time, they said. From the shopper’s point of view, the best bargains are now to be found in Australian canned beer, which is selling from as low as $8.99 a dozen cans; flagon beer, which is selling at almost cost price; and gin, which has been selling below cost for several weeks in some outlets.