Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Zuccoli IGA owner Shelley Lay believes the NT Government’s liquor licence buy-back scheme is an attempt to push small operators out of the market

Transcript

Zuccoli IGA owner Shelley Lay believes the NT Government’s liquor licence buy-back scheme is an attempt to push small operators out of the market · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It is just on a quarter past ten eight nine
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: four one one four nine is the number if you'd
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  Speaker 1: like to call through. Now we know that she was
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  Speaker 1: announced yesterday that corner stores that sell alcohol will now
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  Speaker 1: have the chance to ask the Northern Territory government to
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  Speaker 1: buy back their liquor license. The new scheme is going
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  Speaker 1: to give operators four weeks to express interest in doing so,
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  Speaker 1: in what the government says is a bid to reduce
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  Speaker 1: the number of takeaway out let's across the territory and
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  Speaker 1: alcohol related harm. Now joining me on the line to
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  Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more about the situation from
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  Speaker 1: her perspective is Shelley Lay, who is indeed the zicicoli
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  Speaker 1: IgA owner. Good morning to you, Shelley.
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  Speaker 2: Hi Katie, how are you not too bad?
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  Speaker 1: Shelly? What was your reaction to this announcement?
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  Speaker 2: I guess it was a bit of a shock to
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  Speaker 2: hear that. Yesterday. We didn't know that that was on
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  Speaker 2: the table, So yeah, it's I guess it's another way
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  Speaker 2: that we're being penalized, not only with the twenty five
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  Speaker 2: percent rule, but now i'll try to take us totally
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  Speaker 2: out of the market, and I.
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  Speaker 1: Suppose it'll come down to your decision whether you wanted to,
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  Speaker 1: you know, to go through the buyback scheme or not.
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  Speaker 1: But it would be a hard decision to actually go
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  Speaker 1: through something like that for you guys, I'm assuming because
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  Speaker 1: you've you've literally got, you know, a section of the
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  Speaker 1: shop that has been set up to be able to
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  Speaker 1: sell alcohol there, and knowing that it's you know that
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  Speaker 1: it was the twenty five percent rule. I know that
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  Speaker 1: those boundaries have changed as well, but it would be
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  Speaker 1: a hard decision then to make to say, all right,
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  Speaker 1: we're no longer going to sell alcohol.
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  Speaker 2: I think it is a very hard decision, and I
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  Speaker 2: think for people who may even be interested in this decision,
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  Speaker 2: it's hard for them not knowing what the buyback possibly
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  Speaker 2: could be. And I know I've had a conversations with
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  Speaker 2: people saying how much do you think it is? And
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  Speaker 2: maybe if it was disclosed how much it was, then
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  Speaker 2: there may be more people who are interested. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: you just don't know it's been put out there. But
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  Speaker 2: people may be interested but are not going to put
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  Speaker 2: their hand up because they're not sure.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, how would it sort of work, do you think?
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  Speaker 1: And how could it be viable?
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  Speaker 2: I don't know. I guess they'd probably be looking at
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  Speaker 2: some type of formula to figure out the value of
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  Speaker 2: the alcohol or the profits that is potentially made from
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  Speaker 2: the sales of the alcohol. And I think like the
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  Speaker 2: Malax supermarket owner was talking to I've heard him on
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  Speaker 2: the radio earlier saying, there's the good will there, and
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  Speaker 2: there's also the value that having that convenience offering under
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  Speaker 2: your roof brings to your grocery sales. And when you
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  Speaker 2: don't have that convenience offering, people don't come and buy
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  Speaker 2: the groceries anymore. And that's probably the biggest side to it.
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  Speaker 1: And Shelley, I mean, is that what is that something
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  Speaker 1: that you know that would be an unintended consequence I guess,
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  Speaker 1: or a consequence for you.
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  Speaker 2: Guys totally and for us. I'm not willing to take
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  Speaker 2: that gamble. I'm already experiencing lots of sales this week
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  Speaker 2: from the liquor store not being there. Mind you, I
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  Speaker 2: have been very heartwarmed by all the locals who are
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  Speaker 2: coming in to buy their groceries and actually saying we
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  Speaker 2: are here to support you. So that's been wonderful. But
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  Speaker 2: still with that, you see people that come to the
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  Speaker 2: bottle shop and then they just turn around and walk out.
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  Speaker 2: They're annoyed and they don't want to be giving their
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  Speaker 2: business elsewhere, but they've been forced to.
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  Speaker 1: So, Shelley, is this buyback something that you guys would consider?
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  Speaker 2: Not really, Katie, it doesn't work in with our model. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: and we've always said that that it's a convenience offering
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  Speaker 2: that we have there, and that's why we have our customers.
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  Speaker 2: They're busy, they're on their way home from work, and
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  Speaker 2: they want to stop at their local and support local.
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  Speaker 1: We had the discussion throughout the week that was on
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  Speaker 1: this topic and the treasurer Evil Laula had said that,
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  Speaker 1: you know, sometimes what we see is that when there
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  Speaker 1: are corner stores, for example, that are selling takeaway alcohol,
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  Speaker 1: that you do have people kind of congregating around that area.
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  Speaker 1: Is that something that you guys have experienced.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely not. We don't experience that at all. And if
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  Speaker 2: there are some bottle shops that are experiencing that, if
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  Speaker 2: they weren't selling alcohol at that particular location, where do
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  Speaker 2: you think they're going to congregate next at the next
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  Speaker 2: bottle shop? Would be my guest, and we keep saying this,
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  Speaker 2: if it's not available at my shop, it's going to
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  Speaker 2: be it is available at the shop up the road.
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  Speaker 2: And last week's example of Bubus being closed is a
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  Speaker 2: prime example of US customers not able to go to
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  Speaker 2: b Wus then they come to our store. And that
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  Speaker 2: is why I am in this twenty five percent predicament
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  Speaker 2: in the first place, because people just go to the
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  Speaker 2: outlets that's open.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, right, And look, I'm not surprised by that. I
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  Speaker 1: think to myself, you know, if people want to get
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  Speaker 1: their hands on alcohol, whether it's for a social drink
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  Speaker 1: or whether it's to overindulge in. You know, in some
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  Speaker 1: situations like we've seen around the Northern Territory, they're going
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  Speaker 1: to get their hands on alcohol no matter what you
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  Speaker 1: would suspect.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they certainly are. And what's happening here is we
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  Speaker 2: are being made out to be the bad guy and
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  Speaker 2: it's intrimental to our business and our staff and we
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  Speaker 2: are very, very worried about what the intention here is
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  Speaker 2: with the voluntary buy that is the next thing, a
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  Speaker 2: forced buyback, because the words are grocery liquor store licenses,
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  Speaker 2: so were the small businesses are clearly being targeted here.
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  Speaker 1: Shelley, have you spoken to the other IDAs. What's the
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  Speaker 1: you know, what is sort of the consensus I guess
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  Speaker 1: from you guys at this point in time.
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  Speaker 2: None of us agree with the Cats, and I'm not
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  Speaker 2: sure about their views on the buyback. It will be
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  Speaker 2: a very personal choice and everyone's situation is different. Some
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  Speaker 2: people are at the end of their career and could
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  Speaker 2: be looking at potentially selling their stores, so this may
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  Speaker 2: be a good option for them, but it will come
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  Speaker 2: down to the dollar figure of course, for these businesses.
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  Speaker 1: Shelley, do you sort of question, like when something like
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  Speaker 1: this is announced and whether people agree with it or
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  Speaker 1: they disagree with it, But do you sort of question
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  Speaker 1: and think to yourself, well, if the band drinker is
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  Speaker 1: register and the other measures that we have in place
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  Speaker 1: are working, why do they need to go down this path? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Totally, And that is one of my big arguments. That
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  Speaker 2: we are selling alcohol only to people who are not
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  Speaker 2: on the band drinkers registered, who have a responsible place
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  Speaker 2: to drink their takeaway alcohol, but we're then still going
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  Speaker 2: over the twenty five percent cap. So this model does
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  Speaker 2: not work and it does not keep small business alive
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  Speaker 2: in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: And Shelley, what do you say to anybody that's listening
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  Speaker 1: this morning, that's you know that's listening and they're thinking
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  Speaker 1: to themselves, well, you know, you shouldn't be able to
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  Speaker 1: buy alcohol at the corner store, and we have got
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  Speaker 1: too many outlets across the territory.
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  Speaker 2: You can buy alcohol anywhere, well, at any liquor store
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  Speaker 2: that sells it. So whether it's at the corner store
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  Speaker 2: or it's right next to a major supermarket. People, while
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  Speaker 2: its is a legal product and available, people will gain
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  Speaker 2: access to it wherever they can. And another thing that
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  Speaker 2: they can do is they just steal for it anyway.
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  Speaker 2: And we were paying four thousand dollars a week at
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  Speaker 2: the seal for our dogs. But we will get fined,
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  Speaker 2: and so people to protect people from stealing it, but
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  Speaker 2: we can't sell it, so we thought it we'd get fined,
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  Speaker 2: but you could come and take it and get away
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  Speaker 2: with it. Off topic, but I think it's under a
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  Speaker 2: lot of pressure at the moment, and I'm really worried
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  Speaker 2: about our business, about my employees them losing their jobs,
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  Speaker 2: their hours, and not to mention the other smaller operators
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  Speaker 2: that are in our center. There's a bigger picture here
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  Speaker 2: and we need to be heard because this is detrimental
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  Speaker 2: to the small business or small businesses in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: And Shelley, what impact do you think that it's going
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  Speaker 1: to have when it comes to competition.
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  Speaker 2: But that's another great question, Katie, thanks for leading that
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  Speaker 2: sub This is very much anti competitive because if you
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  Speaker 2: take out all the small players, there's a monopoly and
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  Speaker 2: it's just it's all the big guys who will be
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  Speaker 2: able to price how they like because there will be
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  Speaker 2: no independence, And to be honest, I can't imagine that
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  Speaker 2: the big players would agree with having an monopoly based
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  Speaker 2: on their value.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Shelley, Lay you've given us a bit more food
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  Speaker 1: for thought, I think, and we are going to talk
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  Speaker 1: more about this. We're going to catch up with another
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  Speaker 1: corner store owner very shortly, so I really appreciate you
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  Speaker 1: having a chat with me again this morning.
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  Speaker 2: No one seems to be regular at the moment, it does.
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  Speaker 1: Shelley, thank you. Have a good weekend.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, you too, Bye bye now.