Photo: https://www.thetrusts.co.nz/
West Auckland's liquor stores are being transformed in a bid to increase the profits they return to the community.
West Liquor and Village Wine and Spirits stores are set to become Liquorland or Super Liquor franchises, in a move the West Auckland trusts say will increase choices available to customers.
But a group opposed to the Trusts' monopoly over liquor sales says it was just one small step in the right direction.
With very few exceptions, the Trusts own and operate all liquor stores west of Waterview.
Last year, the Trusts earned more than $130 million in revenue from their liquor retail stores, hospitality venues and investments, while the community it served saw less than $2m returned in grants and funding.
Trusts chief executive Allan Pollard acknowledged the returns were not good enough, and aimed to boost them to $5m each year within five years.
"It's been a bit difficult obviously with Covid, cyclones and floods, but what you will see over the next three to five years is incremental increases in the support that we give back to the community, and it will be scaled up so we can reach that target of $5m."
That might seem a distant goal, with roughly $6m given back to the community in the three years to March 2022.
But Pollard said steps were being taken to deliver it - beginning with the conversion of all Trusts liquor stores to Liquorland or Super Liquor franchises.
He said the savings would speak for themselves.
"The reduced marketing costs, the procurement terms will be superior, the branding costs that we'll save.
"There's many other operational costs such as ticketing, staff training and development costs - we incur many hundreds of thousands of dollars of costs ourselves.
"Now we can create more efficiencies, reduce those costs, and therefore add more value back to the community."
A West Liquor store in New Lynn. Photo: Tom Taylor / RNZ
According to their draft property strategy, the Trusts would need to invest up to $35m within five years to maintain their retail stores and taverns.
Pollard said such investment was necessary and, provided they made savings through initiatives like franchising, could be achieved at the same time as ramping up their community returns.
"We're very lucky we have a very strong balance sheet.
"The community returns are very important, but making sure we have assets for the future of West Auckland is also very important."
The Trusts would continue to own and collect revenue from the liquor stores after the rebranding.
It was one of the few decisions by the Trusts the West Auckland Licensing Trusts Action Group (WALTAG) agreed with.
WALTAG was established in 2018 with the goal of dismantling the Trusts' monopoly over liquor sales.
Although Pollard said he introduced the idea of franchising in his interview for the chief executive job three years ago, WALTAG spokesperson Nick Smale was still chalking it up as a win for the action group.
"We just think it's a step in the right direction," Smale said.
"We favour competition, we favour choice. We don't think it's a massive win, but at the same time, we're celebrating because we think it will offer consumers - the people of West Auckland - more choice."
Smale said the Trusts stood to benefit from stepping away from their retail brand, while West Aucklanders should see savings from national promotions the liquor store chains were able to bring in.
However, he was quick to point out that although there would be two different brands, this did not equate to competition.
"You might have two stores to choose between, but they're all being run by the same crowd.
"They're not really going to be competing for customers in the same way they would if it was a proper competitive environment."
And unlike the rest of Auckland, people out west would still not be able to buy their alcohol in supermarkets, with only Trusts stores able to gain an off-licence.
"Supermarkets are just far and away the most convenient for a lot of people," Smale said.
"It's nice to be able to go in and buy your meat, your chips, and your beer, all at the same place for a good price."
All 25 Trusts liquor stores were set to become Liquorland or Super Liquor franchises by November, with four stores already converted to Liquorlands.
