NY DC ATL MIA
-9% -8% -9% -7%
-6% -10% -5% 5%
-5% -5% -9% -10%
-13% -11% -22% -4%
-9% -14% -27% -17%
-1% -7% -25% -5%
-8% -13% -27% -20%
-10% -18% -33% -17%
Beer Sales Trends: January – December 2009
Dollar sales compared to January – December 2008
Domestic
Bar
Casual Dining
Fine Dining
Import
Bar
Casual Dining
Fine Dining
CHI
-15%
-16%
-14%
-13%
-15%
-19%
-12%
-16%
LA NATIONAL
-6% -9%
-12% -11%
-6% -8%
2% -10%
-14% -17%
-21% -18%
-9% -17%
-7% -16%
GuestMetrics for Nightclub & Bar
where it declined 9 percent. Rum had a
wild ride in 2009. Casual dining venues in
New York experienced a 25 percent gain
in rum sales, while bars in that market
enjoyed a 12 percent increase. The
category declined 13 percent in the six
markets tracked, but fared best nationally
in bars, where rum declined 7 percent
as compared to 19 percent in fine dining
and 12 percent in casual dining. Scotch
declined 15 percent nationally in 2009,
performing best in bars (- 7 percent) and
actually experiencing an increase in bars
in New York ( 4 percent). Canadian whisky
dropped 14 percent nationally, although it
grew 6 percent in New York bars.
The mixologists’ darling, gin, declined
14 percent nationally, but saw the lowest
rate of decline in bars in New York (- 2
percent) and D.C. (- 4 percent).
While it re-
mains the largest
category of spirits
— the Distilled
Spirits Council
reports it gener-
ated 30 percent of
total U.S. spirits
volume and 24
percent of sales in Why buy KOLD-DRAFT?
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the U.S. in 2009 — vodka felt the effects
of the economic downturn. Across the six
markets tracked, vodka sales declined 15
percent in 2009. The only increase was
seen in bars in New York ( 1 percent).
Tequila is a rising star, with buzz about
new expressions, but the category was
hit hard last year, logging a 16 percent
overall decline in the six markets tracked.
The bar segment was a bright spot, especially those in New York and Miami — tequila grew 12 percent in each of those
markets — and Atlanta and D.C., where it
grew 4 and 3 percent, respectively.
Cordials declined 19 percent nationally,
experiencing the smallest decline in bars
(- 15 percent). Brandy lost 18 percent over
2008 sales, with the least decline occurring in casual dining (- 12 percent).
Looking at wine, white varietals fared
best in 2009, losing 26 percent nationally,
while rosés dropped 28 percent and reds
declined 33 percent. Wine sales in fine
dining venues tracked were particularly
hard hit (- 32 percent), while casual dining
establishments lost 26 percent of sales
nationally and bars 22 percent, resulting
in wine declining 30 percent for the year.
“Where we see slower rates of decline
or even increases are places where
aggressive promotions are going on,”
Posten says. “The bottom line is that promotions — whether conjured up by the
operator or heavily supported by the brand
marketer — drive traffic and sales.” NCB
The ONLY True Cube
800-840-9577
www.kold-draft.com
The Research
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 from January to
December 2009. 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
tool, which is uploaded daily from
point-of-sale systems.
This report is the third of an ongoing series of reports Nightclub & Bar
will publish on current on-premise sales
trends. Nightclub & Bar is the exclusive
media partner of GuestMetrics. All the
reports are hosted on our web site,
www.nightclub.com.
For a deeper dive into on-premise
trends, GuestMetrics and
partner Technomic Inc. offer
SalesMetrics, a monthly
report of sales and marketing
facts and insights for food-
service executives. A monthly Executive
Briefing identifies relevant restaurant
trends and incorporates expert analysis
from Technomic. Data is sourced from
GuestMetrics’ actual check transactions
database. For more information, visit
www.guestmetrics.com.
