Cocktails sales soar at Wetherspoons as draught beer takes a hit
Cocktail sales have soared when compared with draught beer as more young people venture out post-lockdown, Wetherspoons has reported.
In the 15 weeks to 7 November, sales of drinks such as mojitos and cosmopolitans were up 45% on the previous year, along with vodka and rum.
However, while cocktails and short drinks soared, sales of draught beers were down by 30%.
The pub chain’s chairman Tim Martin said this may be down to older customers had been visiting less frequently.
H claimed that some customers had been “understandably cautious” as lockdown measures eased, adding: “Improvement in trade will therefore depend, to some extent, on the outlook for the Covid-19 virus.”
Overall, like-for-like sales – which strip out the effect of new pubs opening – were 8.9% lower for the first 15 weeks of the financial year than the record sales it saw in 2019.
Bar sales dipped by 9.6%, with the chain saying that its Lloyds pubs, which offer music, had performed a bit better at weekends, “probably reflecting a higher percentage of younger customers”.
‘Isolated difficulties’
The group said bar sales were down by 9.6% while the impact of people working from home appeared to have affected food revenues, with breakfast demand dropping by 22%.
Wetherspoons also acknowledged that it had experienced supply chain disruption “from time to time” but said the problems had eased in recent weeks.
On recruitment – another challenge across the economy – the group said it had seen “isolated difficulties” in some areas during the “pingdemic” and in popular UK “staycation” hotspots but that there had generally been a “reasonable level of job applications” as it grew its workforce after the reopening of pubs in the spring.
Wetherspoons said trade had recovered unexpectedly well in some larger towns and cities such as Newcastle and Liverpool but sales were still 17% below pre-pandemic levels in central London.
Mr Martin added: “Whereas we have an increased element of caution about near-term sales, ‘booster’ vaccinations and better weather in the spring are likely to have a positive impact in the coming months.”
