Dear NOffLA Member,

I realise that I am writing to you at a very difficult time. Being in the business myself I understand the day to day problems we are all facing. Under pressure from the multiples, cross border shopping and the economic downturn, it is certainly not easy to prosper in the off-licence trade. In addition, tighter credit from suppliers, decreases in turnover and the personal pressures such as levies and drops in income make this an extremely challenging time. I am also well aware that government decisions have not been favourable to us in the past year.

It is very easy though, to have short memories and forget just what our Association has achieved over the past number of years and just how important it is to have a voice on behalf of the independent off-licence sector.

Since 2001 there has been a concerted effort by Government and other interest groups to deregulate our business. Let me remind you of some such attempts that were made;

• Remember when the Liquor Commission recommended that there should be free access to the Off-Licence business and the market value of your licence would be zero. Thanks to strong lobbying from NOffLA this did not happen.
• Remember when one TD after another called for labelling on all alcohol products. While this issue has not gone away, thanks to an active campaign from your Association it has been kept at bay.
• Remember that we have come a long way from the days where off-licences had a bad name. Thanks to the success of our proactive Responsible Trading in the Community (RTC) initiative, we are now recognised as one of the most responsible of all retailers. As a direct result of championing the responsible retail of alcohol and training our members, we no longer have a negative public image and even the Department of Health recognise we are no longer the problem!
• Remember the days when every budget meant an excise increase. Thanks in part to our campaigns we have only seen two increases in seven years.
• Remember when communication was all one way between us and government. Now thanks to the continuous efforts of our Association we are recognised in the public domain and our opinion is sought on related issues. Last year NOffLA, at the request of the Department of Justice, contributed to the report prepared by the Alcohol Advisory Group in advance of the 2008 Bill. While we are very annoyed that the government caved in to the multiples I can assure you many more restrictions than the early closing would have been imposed without our input and lobbying.
• Remember when multiples could offer free alcohol as part of a price promotion.
Not any more. That was us.

The work of our Association promises to continue with equal fervour throughout this year. Our plans for 2009 include;

• Continue to push for greater restrictions on multiples to reduce their irresponsible price promotion of alcohol.
• Continue to lobby for the introduction of lower taxation levels specifically on alcohol that will eliminate bulk purchasing of alcohol by Southern shoppers in Northern Ireland.
• Continue to highlight with government that VAT is being used to subsidize below cost selling.
• Continue to monitor the implementation of the Code of Conduct.
• Continue the pressure on government to implement the rest of the Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008 to afford independent traders at minimum, a level playing field.
• Continue to lobby for the reintroduction of later closing hours because Section 9 was not implemented.
• Reiterate the need for mandatory training in our business sector.
• Restate the need for mandatory I.D.
• Reinforce that excise levies are not the answer to tackling alcohol related issues in advance of further supplementary budgets.

I will be writing to Minister Ahern next week, yet again to communicate our stance in relation to these key issues. We have also been vocal through the media of late, commenting on Today FM’s “Last Word” in respect of the Dublin Drink Link operation. Only last week I met with DIGI and Oireachtas members to express NOffLA’s viewpoint on the impact of the current economic climate on the drinks industry.

Work in this regard is continuous as well as working with suppliers in relation to margins, prices, promotions and contentious issues such as direct selling. We need your support as much as you need a strong reputable Association capable of standing up for your rights. I urge you to keep that support coming. Work with us and I assure you we will do our utmost to represent the interests of our business and please remember that the Executive works on a purely voluntary basis on your behalf.

As a representative group of 350 outlets spread throughout Ireland we won’t always succeed in achieving our objectives, however, I do believe that over the last 17 years our Association has represented the views and interests of independent off-licence owners and that without it we would have had no collective voice.

We will and look forward to, getting through this together. Our strength is our numbers, our collective voice and our commitment to working on your behalf.

Yours sincerely,

Jim McCabe

Chairman