Barrel Booze Ltd

Source: Food and Drink Digital

Date :15/11/2007 09:45:18

Sales Director Ishwinder Binning explains what makes Barrel Booze one of the leading drinks wholesalers in the UK

Written by Roxanne Ridge and Produced by Hannah Edwards

Luton-based Barrel Booze is a leading drinks specialist and wholesaler of alcoholic drinks. The company started trading in 2000 when Amrik Binning moved from the retail sector and set up the new company. Barrel Booze was originally a wholesale business that served local shops, clubs and pubs in the Luton area.

In 2002, the company decided to branch out and produce their own wines; now the company has an impressive selection of wines and beers, which they supply to companies including the catering business 3663, independent shops and cash-and-carry distributors.

The company’s annual turnover for 2007 was an impressive £14.4million.

Ethically sound

Barrel Booze is a company that creates brands exclusively for the independent sector. Barrel Booze has an extensive portfolio of wines ranging from California to Australian wines.

“We effectively use Europe as our base before we import into the UK,” explains Ishwinder. “Everything from casting to wine consultation and branding is carried out in Europe if possible.”

These specialist brands are supplied by way of a regional franchise network throughout a number of independent wholesalers and distributors across the UK. These companies then sell products to independent shops and members of the Nisa-Today Group – Europe’s largest independent buying consortium, of which Barrel Booze is a member.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that Barrel Booze is a strong supporter of the My Shop is Your Shop (MSYS) campaign, which highlights the role played by independent local retailers in serving their community.

“We’re very much in support of legislating against the discounting of alcohol products and its abuse,” explains Ishwinder. “Discounting effectively de-values the product and affects the UK’s drinking culture.

“This is hard to approach – you’re obviously up against the larger chain stores’ cut prices, but you’ve got to think about the social implications of drinking and sometimes it’s not morally sound to just keep decreasing the profit in this sense.

“We’d rather advertise along the lines of ‘Win a free holiday’ than offer three bottles of wine for £10, because this effectively encourages binge drinking”

When it comes to competition, Barrel Booze has a similar outlook: “We openly discuss a lot of information about the market with our competitors,” says Ishwinder. “There’s obviously the competitive aspect, but there’s also the fact that it’s a small market. ‘Collusion’ from an economic viewpoint can result in increased profits for all companies involved.”

Finding the market

Barrel Booze focuses strongly on the UK’s burgeoning market. Additional demand from female and more sophisticated drinkers has changed the market considerably.

“There’s been a huge increase in wine and cider sales – especially in sparkling and rosé wine,” explains Ishwinder. “It has been lager sales that have dropped. So in this sense, we’re focusing on developing our wines, focusing on mid and high price category wines.

“We’re also converting more and more of our brands to screw caps from corks,” he says. “There’s a common perception that the wine is cheaper, but screw caps actually have a lower failure rate as compared to corks and allow the wine to reach the consumer in perfect condition. We’re working hard to explain this to companies and consumers.

Keeping on top of this market is one thing, but keeping the costs down at the same time is another. And Barrel Booze manages this exceptionally well.

“We’ve cut costs in certain areas and have become more efficient in others. We have outsourced our transport requirements which were previously in house. The outcome has been an improvement in service and a decrease in costs,” Ishwinder explains.

“We’ve also upgraded to a new phone system, which means we’re able to match up to how other distribution and wholesalers work. The new system allows us to answer customer queries and take orders while we’re out of the office.”

The phone system also allows Barrel Booze to integrate further with its sister company, The Auction House, which is a banqueting and conference facility that caters for clients such as Whitbread Plc.

This opened earlier this year and has been a huge asset to the company as a whole.

Ishwinder came to his uncle’s business in 2004 after finishing a degree in Economics at Birmingham University. He started on a role as Deputy Manager, progressing to General Manager and then onto the Sales Director role in July 2007.

Many of Barrel Booze’s other 25 employees were recruited via newspaper adverts or through local recruitment agencies. And since these employees joined the company a lot of focus has been placed on training them in every possible way

“We enrol our staff onto relevant training programmes wherever possible.

Two members of staff are currently on NVQ training programmes which the company funds,” says Ishwinder. “And next year we hope to enter for the Investors in People Award.

“We currently have around 25 employees, but as the company grows, we hope this figure will grow too.

“Barrel Booze also sponsors Luton Town Football Club and we have billboards that are displayed to around 10,000 people on match days. We are part of Luton and working alongside Luton Town is a great way of demonstrating that.”

Looking forward

“Barrel Booze is aiming to keep a steady focus on market changes and develop wines and alcoholic beverages within them,” says Ishwinder. “Our main challenges are going to be keeping up with the discounting and promotional deals that the larger stores have in place.

“We’ve dealt with the smoking ban and we’ve matched up to promotions that have run alongside extended licensing hours, so I’m confident that we’re going to continue to improve as a company in the future.

“Back in 2003 are turnover was £4 million, this year its nearer £15 million. I’m confident that between now and the next year we’re going to continue to steadily progress at this rate.