Stocking up for Christmas: Seasonal sales

Christmas is a time when you must make everything in the pub work for you.

Beer​

Big name brands and specialities are the key beer categories to promote over Christmas, says Colin Pedrick, managing director of on-trade sales at Interbrew UK. "Big brands are the key drivers of the beer category at Christmas," he explains. "This is because a large number of infrequent pub-goers come into the market and these people will be looking for brands they know and trust.

"They will be drawn to the names they recognise which is why they need to be displayed correctly. Premium draught lager is the most profitable product on the front bar and crucial because of the nature of the festive pub-goer but it is generally under-displayed compared with the cash it generates."

Pubs should also draw attention to other profitable lines, such as speciality beers. "Specialities fit the nature of the festive market because people are in the mood to treat themselves," continues Colin. "Barstaff can take the opportunity to recommend speciality beer brands and encourage new people to sample them.

Interbrew research shows 51 per cent of consumers will consider a brand recommended by staff and 18 per cent want advice - this is something licensees can use beyond the festive season, Colin adds.

Chris Phillips at Carlsberg UK agrees. "The potential for experimentation within the speciality beer market at Christmas should not be overlooked," he says. "Christmas presents the ideal opportunity for consumers to try out new products and treat themselves to something different.

"There's huge growth in brands associated with food, such as Duckstein, and retailers should be prepared to offer a varied range that encourages consumers to discover new brands and explore the sector."

Cask ale​

With people looking for different tipple to raise a toast to the festive season, cask ales offer the chance to experiment with alternative flavours. Badger Ales offers the following advice:

• Make sure any promotional material you produce, such as press ads, signage and menus, highlight the cask ales at your pub
• Use the PoS provided by brewers - drip mats, leaflets, special promotions can help make customers aware of your cask offering
• Display tasting notes. Do a specials board for ales in the same way as you do for food, or include tasting notes in printed menus
• Hold festive cask ale tastings at key points in the build-up to Christmas
• Always invite customers to try an ale before they make a choice
• Follow good cellar procedures - ensure your ale is well kept and delivered to the customer in clean, branded glasses
• Maximise any cask ale promotional activity being run by brewers
• Make sure your staff - including temporary employees - are aware of the differences between the types of cask ale you sell so they can help customers make a choice

Soft drinks​

It's not just alcohol that makes a festive occasion. According to Sue Garfitt, Britvic's director of category planning, Christmas is also "a vitally important time of the year for soft drinks."

"This year, licensees will benefit more than ever," she predicts. "General consumer trends towards family occasions and healthier living, coupled with an increased awareness of responsible drinking will lead to even greater soft drinks sales resulting in even greater profits for licensees. The advice to licensees is to make sure you stock up on the big name brands and make sure they are visible."

In the two months leading up to Christmas in 2003 more than £400m of soft drinks were sold in the on-trade. That represented a 14 per cent rise on 2002 after steady rises in the years before.

"Christmas sales of soft drinks suddenly went through the roof last year," says Sue. "This was due not only to the increased relevance of soft drinks in the on-trade but also to some dynamic brands that led the way and captured the imagination of pub-goers."

Sue is, of course, thinking of Britvic's fast-growing still juice drink J20 which she believes is a "credible alternative at Christmas" and not just for people who don't want to drink alcohol. "It is also used as a pacer between alcohol rounds,"she adds.

But don't neglect the more traditional pub soft drinks. According to AC Nielsen research the only brands to outstrip J20 last Christmas were Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi plus R.White's and Schweppes lemonades.

Here's Britvic's advice for maximising soft drink sales over the festive season:

• Promote larger servings of draught and packaged soft drinks
• Chill your premium range - half of customers will pay more for cold drinks
• Serve draught in hi-ball glasses with ice and fruit and offer glasses with bottled drinks
• Display premium soft drinks to raise awareness
• Offer jugs of premium packaged soft drinks or soft drink cocktails
• Offer specific kids' brands
• Train your staff to sell soft drinks alongside food
• Use point-of-sale, particularly at lunchtimes when customers are less likely to want alcohol
• Use chalkboards for prices or special deals
• Use hot spots and chalkboards away from the bar.

The sales edge - Peter Segal​

Christmas is still nearly three months away but rest assured the shops will soon have us believing it is approaching fast. Personally I'd rather not think about it until December but from a pub's perspective it is important to start planning your activity now.

While it may not be necessary to get the Christmas tree and lights out just yet it is a good idea to let your target market know what is available in your pub over the festive season.

Many Christmas parties are being booked at this very moment so make sure potential customers have your Christmas menu and offers. Create a list of local offices, factories and clubs and send them an invite.

The great thing about Christmas is that it gives you an opportunity to bring in additional revenue at quiet times of the week. The themes or activities you organise are likely to differ through the week depending on the customers and the type of occasion. A festive season activity plan will ensure you are prepared in terms of food, drink, stock, number of staff and decorations. The difficulty with Christmas is that customers are blitzed with information from all sides so it is vital to ensure your offer stands out. The range of drinks is one way of doing this.

Your start point is, of course, a review of sales from last year's Christmas period so you don't repeat any mistakes. Make sure you focus on the big profit lines and identify any niche products that provided incremental volume.

The mass market seasonal lines will be much the same as before so make sure you have cream liqueurs such as Baileys and sherries such as Harvey's. These, however, will be available everywhere so you need to consider some alternatives.

Mulled wine is a personal favourite and the smell can add to the seasonal ambience. There are many different recipes to be found on the internet so create some interest by trying some and getting customers to have a taste. Eggnog is another way of adding some variety so why not give it a go?

You may also be in a position to have some guest ales with daft names over the Christmas period. Of course, Santa's Dark Ale isn't going to bring you early retirement but it well help create the yuletide mood that your customers for the most part are looking for.

The key thing, however, is to ensure you have the big volume lines available across the period. If you can provide some uniqueness as well your drinks offer should meet the demands of those thirsty festive customers.

Finally, while C