Making a difference to the drinks trade

Drinksummit will be tackling the issues that matter to wholesalers working in the beer, wines and spirits trade. John Wood reports

Drinksummit, the annual beer, wines and spirits conference organised by the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 1989 and is now seen as the agenda-setting event in the wholesale channel's drinks calendar.

This year's event, at the Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel in Gloucestershire on July 5-6, will maintain that tradition with a line-up of top speakers from leading wholesalers, suppliers, market analysts and other stakeholders in the market.

The biggest concern of many in the trade is the issue of duty fraud, and the damage it is doing to the drinks business of legitimate wholesalers, and this will be the subject of a presentation by the FWD chief executive James Bielby. He will update delegates on the progress of the FWD's high-profile campaign to eliminate duty fraud, which has resulted in questions being asked in both houses of Parliament and a debate in the House of Commons.

This lead to a meeting in March between an FWD delegation comprising Bielby, Booker chief executive Charles Wilson and InBev's UK president Stuart MacFarlane and Treasury minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry together with senior officials from the Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs. At the meeting the minister said eliminating duty fraud was a high priority and that HMRC was about to launch a new strategy to counter alcohol fraud. She also asked her officials to investigate the feasibility of FWD proposals for a register of licensed wholesalers. Bielby will be able to report on progress since the meeting, and whether the results of the General Election are likely to have an effect.

Another political issue that is becoming a hot topic is self regulation. Over recent years the drinks industry has managed to hold the moral high ground with the Portman Group taking action against manufacturers deemed irresponsible. However, after successes in campaigns against tobacco and salt, sugar and fat in food, the powerful health lobby is increasingly turning its attention to the drinks industry and the issue of 'binge drinking'.

Chris Sorek, chief executive of the independent charity Drinkaware, which is supported by voluntary donations from across the drinks industry, will look at what more the drinks industry needs to be doing, and what's at stake if they fail to act responsibly.

Representing the wholesale sector on the platform will be Russell Grant, commercial director of Blakemore Wholesale, who will examine how suppliers and wholesalers can work together to grow sales in the wholesale channel, and Leanne Matthews, spirits buyer at Booker. Her presentation will answer the questions: "Is 2010 the year in which we can finally talk about trading up again, and what are wholesalers like Booker doing to add more value or is it all about price promotions?"

Three figures who are well known to the wholesale sector will be representing the producers. Richard Honey, director of sales impulse at Molson Coors, who presented the FWD Gold Medals as sponsor last autumn, will cover: "What independents need to do to capitalise on beer and what wholesalers should be doing to help them, how much can the major brewers accept responsibility for cut-throat pricing in the multiples, and how serious are they about the wholesale channel?"

Gordon Johncox, UK sales director at Magners Cider, will look at why cider sales are booming, how independents can cash in, and how can wholesalers help them?

And John Mills, managing director of ICB, will look ahead to the shape of the spirits market in 2020, what NPD might we expect in packaging and product styles, and what elements of today's on-trade experience will have filtered into the off-trade?

Putting everything into context will be Tony Walsh, senior client manager of Nielsen, who will be providing an insight into the shape of the GB drinks market in 2010 and where the growth coming from.

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Drinksummit details

Where: The conference will be taking place at the same venue as last year, the Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel, Gloucestershire.

When: On July 5 there will be an informal dinner providing delegates with the opportunity to network with others in their industry. The conference will begin the next morning running through to a late lunch.

l For booking details see page 24