We have two mega corps in Australia, Coles and Woolworths.
They own 70% of all grocery stores and liquor outlets. They squeeze the life from a brand supplier with shelf space and bully any competition into bankruptcy by opening stores that they know will run at a loss but also cause the small competitor to run at a loss. Coles and or Woolworths can absorb a loss for 10 years or so. The small competitor goes down the toilet but and Coles or Woolworths gain 100% of the area's business.
They green acre which means they buy the commercial land that someone else could use and leave it bare to block any competition from building there.
They will only stock a product if the supplier can supply it at minimum cost which causes a loss in quality and a pronounced loss in diversity.
In fact if any one doubts my points on Boycotting Diageo just look at Australia, it is a perfect example of all that can go pear shaped. Alcohol tax is massive, there is an oligopoly and shelf space is mostly limited to the huge companies. Even half decent spirit is extraordinarily expensive and the majority of Australians wouldn't know a good spirit if they fell over it. They drink to get drunk and drink mainly the lowest cost drinkable swill.
Bundaberg rum has market power but is awful and progressively getting worse and more expensive with Diageo putting the heavily caramelized shit into fancy bottles and calling it distiillers masters super old blenders dog's choice or some such rubbish.
It's a dirty ol' game.
I warned ya's all.
phew time for a drink.
Diageo: a listing of products
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Capn Jimbo
- Rum Evangelisti and Compleat Idiot
- Posts: 3550
- Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:53 pm
- Location: Paradise: Fort Lauderdale of course...
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Another hope...
It was not all that long ago that the Budweiser's of this world dominated beer here and it was all pretty ordinary. The old breweries common to most cities and towns were driven out of business. Our town with less than 100,000 in population had a very popular local brewery who sold a lovely, German style hometown brew. So did many other towns, and each community loved their local beer. Almost all of them went out of business.
But more recently something important happened.
The people got sick and tired of the majors pee-water, and started buying imports from Holland, Germany, Canada and from elsewhere. And then came the craft and micro distillers, first a few then thousands. The result: quality and creativity returned, homebrewers multiplied exponentially and now even big box stores like Total Wine carry hundreds of such beers.
It's time for a change in the law.
By this I mean a loosening and ease of entry to encourage the same kind of craft/microdistilling of spirits. Let's be honest. There are thousands of home distillers out there, all operating with great discretion for personal knowledge and enjoyment. More than a few would love to open a legal microdistillery but simply can't manage to jump through all the hoops and mazes in the form of complicated and multiple levels of government.
The first step is to allow home distillation with only a few limits: not for sale, modest annual volume, for personal use. The second step would encourage and ease entry for defined microdistillers. The obvious result would be a huge increase in experimentation, creativity and I believe - quality.
Phil Prichard started with a small (roughly 20 or 30 gallon) homemade, illegal still with which he experimented and developed what is now his very famous and well respected fine rum. He is said to still use this still for development purposes.
My position: screw Diageo. Roll yer own...
It was not all that long ago that the Budweiser's of this world dominated beer here and it was all pretty ordinary. The old breweries common to most cities and towns were driven out of business. Our town with less than 100,000 in population had a very popular local brewery who sold a lovely, German style hometown brew. So did many other towns, and each community loved their local beer. Almost all of them went out of business.
But more recently something important happened.
The people got sick and tired of the majors pee-water, and started buying imports from Holland, Germany, Canada and from elsewhere. And then came the craft and micro distillers, first a few then thousands. The result: quality and creativity returned, homebrewers multiplied exponentially and now even big box stores like Total Wine carry hundreds of such beers.
It's time for a change in the law.
By this I mean a loosening and ease of entry to encourage the same kind of craft/microdistilling of spirits. Let's be honest. There are thousands of home distillers out there, all operating with great discretion for personal knowledge and enjoyment. More than a few would love to open a legal microdistillery but simply can't manage to jump through all the hoops and mazes in the form of complicated and multiple levels of government.
The first step is to allow home distillation with only a few limits: not for sale, modest annual volume, for personal use. The second step would encourage and ease entry for defined microdistillers. The obvious result would be a huge increase in experimentation, creativity and I believe - quality.
Phil Prichard started with a small (roughly 20 or 30 gallon) homemade, illegal still with which he experimented and developed what is now his very famous and well respected fine rum. He is said to still use this still for development purposes.
My position: screw Diageo. Roll yer own...
