Industry Report 2011: The challenges facing the trade

There's never a dull moment in the pub trade, that's for sure!

On the bad side there was more legislative drivel to deal with, and hopes that the new government might ease up on the red tape onslaught proved unfounded when it slammed in an immediate - and completely unnecessary - review of the licensing laws. Dear God, we thought we'd seen the last of that particular battle, but no, Cameron and Clegg decided to flex their muscles by pushing through some really very pointless new pieces of legislation - but more of that in the report...

Pubs also faced the challenge of balancing consumer demand for 'value' with the ever present pressure on overheads. Pub-goers in 2010 wanted a lot for their money, although they weren't looking for 'cheap', just an experience that made them feel they were getting a good deal. While the recession led many to visit the pub less frequently, the need to treat themselves when they did go out meant spend per head was up, so pubs that could offer a premium experience did well.

Food was also in growth in 2010, with many pubs looking to bolster struggling wet sales - hit in large part by cheap supermarket deals - by capitalising on consumer trends towards local sourcing and hearty comfort food. Indeed on the positive side, pub food has never been so in vogue with many restaurants losing out to pubs as a result of the value conscious post-recessionary customer.

Elsewhere the revival of cask ale continued although perhaps slightly less buoyantly than in 2009. And the supermarkets remained set on slashing alcohol prices to lower levels than ever before of course, encouraging a pre-loading culture that is now going to be very hard to shift.

But at least Westminster has finally taken off its blinkers and noticed that perhaps the off-trade might have a lot more to do with 'binge Britain' than the nation's pubs given the average price of a pint is now around the £3 mark.

In terms of pub closure levels, they have slowed, but our listing shows a definite drop in overall pub numbers this year, as was to be expected.

For the year ahead there are certainly concerns that we are not out of the woods yet, but on the plus side good pubs seem to have been very resilient so far and - touch wood - the trade will come out of the downturn even leaner and keener than before.

Read the full Industry Report 2011 on pages 15-57 of this week's issue below​.