the first six months of the year. Spirits
sales continued on a downward trend
in casual dining and fine dining through
quarter three.
Looking at specific categories, the
nation’s favorite spirit, vodka, remains
consistent with a 14 percent loss
nationally. Vodka sales in the bar segment were flat, however, a marked
improvement from the 13 percent drop
experienced in the first six months of
2009. Interestingly, vodka sales spiked
in Miami, up 45 percent for the nine
months ending September; a significant gain given that the category had
grown 3 percent in Miami in the first
six months of the year. Again, Posten
notes the strong promotions going on
in bars and nightclubs in that market as
a driving factor. “We’re actually tracking heavy promotional activity among
the super-premium vodka brands
there,” she says.
American whiskey is a winner in the
nation’s capital, posting gains in bars
and casual dining and trending flat
in fine dining establishments. Again,
Miami bars shine with a 26 percent gain
in American whiskey sales for the nine-month period.
On the imported side, Irish whiskey
remains a bright spot. While the category declined 3 percent nationally, an
improvement over the 5 percent decline
reported for the period of January to
June, Irish whiskey experienced a positive gain of 8 percent in both Chicago
bars and Miami bars and a 13 percent
overall increase in the New York market, where every hospitality segment
saw Irish whiskey sales grow. Again,
Posten credits heavy promotions.
Rum, another hot category, also grew
Wine Sales Trends: January – September 2009
Dollar sales compared to January – September 2008
Red
Bar
Casual Dining
Fine Dining
White
Bar
Casual Dining
Fine Dining
Rose
Bar
Casual Dining
Fine Dining
NY
-40%
-40%
-21%
-40%
-25%
-25%
-3%
-27%
-41%
-41%
-51%
-38%
DC
-33%
-33%
-19%
-37%
-34%
-34%
-26%
-36%
-22%
-22%
-19%
-24%
ATL
-33%
-22%
-31%
-37%
-29%
-22%
-25%
-37%
-30%
-9%
-34%
-23%
MIA
-26%
-6%
-19%
-31%
-23%
-11%
-22%
-26%
-22%
-22%
-27%
-12%
CHI
-25%
-28%
-23%
-25%
-13%
-26%
-25%
-6%
-27%
-6%
-10%
-41%
LA
-26%
-23%
-32%
-24%
-22%
-16%
-26%
-21%
-21%
-26%
-29%
-20%
NATIONAL
-32%
-23%
-26%
-31%
-24%
-22%
-24%
-24%
-25%
-17%
-26%
-25%
GuestMetrics for Nightclub & Bar
Thirsty for More?
Visit nightclub.com to obtain this report as
well as Quarter 3 sales data. And for a look at
successful drink promotions or ideas on upcoming events and holidays to build promotions
around, turn to our Marketing & Promotion section on page 4 of this issue and check out the
Profitable Promotions tab at nightclub.com.
in bars and casual dining outlets in New
York, although it declined in fine dining
establishments.
Wine remains the category suffering
most from the economic trends, with
New York on-premise establishments
feeling the most pain. Overall, the rate
of decline actually increased between
June and September, with wine sales
down 29 percent nationally for nine
months ending Sept. 30, compared to
a 26 percent decline for the six months
ending June 30. While fine dining restaurants experienced significant losses
(down 30 percent nationally), casual
dining venues saw wine sales drop 25
percent and bars 22 percent in the first
nine months of this year.
For its part, beer is holding its own,
posting a 10 percent overall decline as
of Sept. 30. Domestics experienced a
slightly greater rate of decline at the
end of September (- 5 percent) than at
the end of June (- 3 percent). Imports
were down 16 percent as of Sept. 30;
on June 30 imported beers had declined
14 percent.
“Where we see gains and growth
or slowing rates of decline, we see a
correlation to branded promotions in on-premise accounts,” observes Posten.
“It goes back to the old adage in this
business that whoever can put forth the
best promotion wins. Well, that’s always been the case in this industry, but
in these trying times, you really have to
put out excellent promotions and keep
them coming in order to make gains.
Brand support, operator promotions and
marketing are the keys to growth these
days.” NCB
The sales trend information
presented here is derived from
GuestMetrics’
analysis of point-of-
sale data from 2,800
bars, nightclubs and
restaurants in six major metro markets.
The data sample represents 104 million
guest checks totaling $4.5 billion in food
and beverage sales. The operators involved
utilize the GuestMetrics GuestSnapshot
Enterprise Reporting Solution, which is
uploaded daily from point-of-sale systems.
This report is the second of an ongoing
series of quarterly reports Nightclub & Bar
will publish on current on-premise sales
trends. Nightclub & Bar is the exclusive
media partner of GuestMetrics. This and
future reports will be hosted on our web
site, www.nightclub.com. For more information about GuestMetrics, visit www.
guestmetrics.com.
The Research
