Price of a pint looks set to soar

[girt_giggler]

When I worked in pubs, for every 10 crates of coke bottles delivered the 11th was free, so they were getting 24 free bottles of coke per order which at that time was £1.10 a bottle retail.

Same goes for your 'christmas drink' from your local publican - at xmas time they get x amount of free kegs. so it's costing the publican nothing, generally speaking to do this 'good deed'.

[Franko]

I'm not defending the £3-a-pint + rip off gang, more the local pub owner who is relying on 6/7 regular customers and maybe one big night a month to keep it going.  There are 6 pubs per day closing in the UK at present and most of them are your general small country pub.  I think that some people see the larger places cleaning up (which no doubt some are) and automatically transfer this mindset to every licensed establishment. Of course I dont condone pubs ripping people off ffs...

[full back]

Small pubs are making just as much on bottles, shorts & mixers

[Franko]

Small pubs are making just as much on bottles, shorts & mixers

No they are not, why would they be closing if they are.  Why would anyone just close a profitable business.  YOu just can't ignore the facts.

[delboy]

Make your own, i can make 40 pints for around a tenner, talking about making it from the grain (same as the big guys) not some tin and that price includes all other associated costs such as leccy etc. Have about 5 or 6 pumps on the go at any one time 

[full back]

Small pubs are making just as much on bottles, shorts & mixers

No they are not, why would they be closing if they are.  Why would anyone just close a profitable business.  YOu just can't ignore the facts.

Are they selling the drinks cheaper?
How many local pubs that you know specifically of have closed down recently?

[Franko]

Small pubs are making just as much on bottles, shorts & mixers

No they are not, why would they be closing if they are.  Why would anyone just close a profitable business.  YOu just can't ignore the facts.

Are they selling the drinks cheaper?
How many local pubs that you know specifically of have closed down recently?

No, they can't sell the drink cheaper because they need that margin to make a living.  It's the old 'cornershop' story.  The supermarkets came in with their high-volume, low-margin stock and basically wiped them out.

As for specific examples – there is one pub about 5 miles from where I live that closed about 3-4 months ago.  Also, the Menagerie in Belfast which relied on a few regulars to keep it going is also closing.

[Onion Bag]

If anyone here drinks in the Errigal belfast, was talking to the bouncer one night and he told me that pints are 10-15p cheaper in the front bar than the big back bar, it is for their locals, cheeky bastards

[full back]

No, they can't sell the drink cheaper because they need that margin to make a living.  It's the old 'cornershop' story.  The supermarkets came in with their high-volume, low-margin stock and basically wiped them out.

But the chain/big pubs arent selling the drink cheaper than the local pubs

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

No, they can't sell the drink cheaper because they need that margin to make a living.  It's the old 'cornershop' story.  The supermarkets came in with their high-volume, low-margin stock and basically wiped them out.

But the chain/big pubs arent selling the drink cheaper than the local pubs

Wetherspoons.

[full back]

Wetherspoons wouldnt be doing much damage to local pubs

It still stands that local pubs are still making profit
The amount they make on bottles, shorts & mixers is way over 100%

[SidelineKick]

Wetherspoons wouldnt be doing much damage to local pubs

It still stands that local pubs are still making profit
The amount they make on bottles, shorts & mixers is way over 100%

Bingo. The mark up on mixers is scandalous! You're talking hundreds of percent.  They also get money for sending the bottles back do they not?

[Franko]

No, they can't sell the drink cheaper because they need that margin to make a living.  It's the old 'cornershop' story.  The supermarkets came in with their high-volume, low-margin stock and basically wiped them out.

But the chain/big pubs arent selling the drink cheaper than the local pubs

Fair enough my analogy wasn't perfect.  It is the price of drink in the supermarkets etc that is squeezing the small publican here. (there are many other reasons but this seems to be the topic we are on).  

Don't get me wrong here – I am certainly not defending the large chains/rip off merchants.  My point is that the small local publican who is making a living out of this should not be tarred with the same brush as the £3.10/pint, £2.00/split brigade who have the good fortune to have established themselves as 'the cool place to be' and can afford to rip people off as a result.

[full back]

It is the price of drink in the supermarkets etc that is squeezing the small publican here. (there are many other reasons but this seems to be the topic we are on).  

The supermarkets are doing drink cheaper than everyone, not just the small publican
I find it hard to have much sympathy with them to be honest, when the mark-up on the 3 items discussed are so high
A small publican could cut the cost on a lost of items in the pub & still be making way over 100%

[thebigfella]

It is the price of drink in the supermarkets etc that is squeezing the small publican here. (there are many other reasons but this seems to be the topic we are on).  

The supermarkets are doing drink cheaper than everyone, not just the small publican
I find it hard to have much sympathy with them to be honest, when the mark-up on the 3 items discussed are so high
A small publican could cut the cost on a lost of items in the pub & still be making way over 100%

How can a small publican compete with the bulk purchasing power, lower distribution costs and the high stock turnover (not forgetting the diversity products it sells) of a massive supermarket chain? Also supermarkets sell drink (or many products in fact) at a loss or with no markup just to attract you in. They take a hit on this as they know they will make it back from sales from other produce/products.