Greene King boss Rooney Anand has credited booming sales of bottled ale with helping the company hit £1bn in retail sales last year - despite prices of key lines coming under pressure.
Greene King does not split out off-trade sales in its results, but Anand said the category had seen “fantastic growth” over the past year.
“Many in the pub industry malign the grocers because of what they’ve done on pricing,” Anand said this week. “But I would say the grocers have done a fantastic job in establishing the bottled ale category and helping to grow it.”
It comes despite data from Brand View showing the average retail price of a 500ml bottle of Old Speckled Hen has fallen from £1.94 to £1.45 over the past year, largely due to the impact of the discounters.
According to Brand View, Lidl began listing the product in 2014 and has cut the base price as low as £1.17 this year, dragging the price of other retailers lower. Tesco and Ocado currently list it at £1.25.
Anand said it was important Greene King products had a presence in the discounters, despite the potential knock-on pricing effect.
“If you’re a brand owner, you want distribution across a wide range of outlets and the everyday price might be lower, but the effect of promotions in other retailers means the real difference is less than it might appear.”
Greene King’s overall revenues were up 1.1% to £1.3bn in the year to 3 May, and retail sales passed £1bn for the first time. Pre-tax profit, however, fell by 2.7%.
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