As licensing reform kicks in across the UK, the drinks trade has named its most responsible pub company as part of a leading industry award scheme.
Punch Taverns, the Burton based pub company, took first place in the On Trade Retailers – Pub Company category at the Morning Advertiser’s second annual Responsible Drinks Retailing awards ceremony, held at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London.
Geoff Brown, marketing director at Punch, said: “The licensed trade has come under intense scrutiny over the past six months and some of the images being portrayed in the media are not representative of the industry as a whole.
“Responsible retailing is central to what we do and there are a number of initiatives in place to ensure our licensees are fully aware of their responsibilities to both customers and the wider community.
“I’m delighted we’ve won this award but, rest assured, the hard work doesn’t stop here.”
Punch provides several licensee training courses which have modules devoted to responsible retailing, including the Modern Licensed Retailer course which is compulsory for all new licensees. It addresses the issue of social responsibility as well as the practical application of licensing law and theory.
And judges highlighted the new Profit Through Quality (PTQ) course as critical to Punch’s success. PTQ is an innovation in licensed trade training which brings together suppliers and experts from across all different retailing categories to deliver powerful combined messages, including the need for responsibility.
Since April this year more than 2,000 delegates have attended Punch’s responsible retailing modules from over 1,100 pubs.
Marketing support available to licensees includes eye catching point-of-sale material such as the Christmas 2005 Connect brochure which contains a guide to staging responsible drinks promotions.
Punch adheres to and is a signature of an industry code of conduct, the Portman Group’s charter, which supports responsible retailing and ensures all bottled products sold by Punch to its licensees are clearly labelled with responsible drinking messages.
Licensees are also encouraged to cooperate fully with local authorities and the police, with many actively involving themselves in Pubwatch groups.
Looking ahead, planned marketing activity is set to focus on the continued avoidance of ‘happy hour’ style promotions and the soon to launch ‘Extra Time’ brochure. This will feature general advice, tips on successfully utilising the new licensing laws without encouraging alcohol abuse and a supportive feature on Pubwatch schemes.
Other initiatives will encourage the upsizing of soft drinks and ‘mocktail’ deals to promote non-alcoholic drinking.
Punch is the UK’s biggest pub company with around 10,000 outlets, having recently acquired the Spirit Group.
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For further information please contact Jules Kerby or Nick Trueman at Seal Communications on 0121 200 0780.