Paramount Liquor has announced plans to open more than 100 bottle shops over the next four years, including 75 Bottle Stop stores and 25 Barrel & Batch stores.
Australia’s largest independent and family-owned liquor wholesaler has described 2024 as a turning point for its retail arm, Paramount Retail, following the launch of the Bottle Stop banner and the acquisition of Barrel & Batch.
Paramount Retail has already opened three Barrel & Batch stores in NSW in Alexandria, St Peters and Marrickville, and has acquired a further two stores in Paddington and Darlinghurst; while there are three Bottle Stop stores in Victoria in Kyneton, Monbulk and Newport.
The acquisitions, alongside the addition of Boozebud to Paramount’s portfolio in 2023 – which has now been rebranded as Bottle Stop form part of ambitious plans by the company to accelerate growth.
“The launch of our new retail brand, Bottle Stop, signals a bold new era offering consumers an omni-channel buying experience that flexibly deliver however they prefer to shop – be that in store, online or via click and collect,” Paramount said.
“In addition, the acquisition of Barrel & Batch, has added even more depth and character to our portfolio utilisation and unmatched range.”
Boozebud’s reinvention
BoozeBud was founded as BeerBud in 2014 by Alex Gale, Andy Williamson and Mark Woollcott. It changed its name and focus to include wine and spirits in late 2015.
BoozeBud was acquired by Carlton and United Breweries in 2017, however Asahi Beverages sold BoozeBud back to its founders in 2020.
Following its acquisition of BoozeBud, Paramount Retail has rebranded it as Bottle Stop, supporting the banner group that it launched earlier this year.
Paramount’s Damien Smith recently told Add to Cart how the company had solidified its foothold in the competitive online alcohol market following the acquisition of Boozebud.
“It was basically a race against time to get the business to a point of sustainability … BoozeBud had a big internal development team, and that can be quite expensive,” said Smith.
“We quickly moved to Shopify, and it’s a much simpler business now.”
Smith said decision allowed BoozeBud to reduce costs, streamline processes and improve the overall customer experience. Smith noted that customers had responded positively to the change, as the new site has better functionality, resulting in higher conversion rates.
“It worked well from a customer perspective. The old site could be a bit challenging for new customers,” he said.
“Now the conversion rate’s better and we get a lot of positive feedback through customer surveys.”