Pubs shine as Endeavour’s bottle shops struggle
Endeavour Group is leaning on what interim chief executive Kate Beattie calls a “pubs renaissance”, as Australians head out for trivia nights and community gatherings, even as households cut back on their bottle shop baskets at Dan Murphy’s and BWS.
The operator of 354 pubs and 1,728 liquor stores posted a 17% slide in profit to $426 million in its full-year results, the toughest performance since it demerged from Woolworths in 2021. The numbers highlight a widening gap between its hotel network, where sales momentum is building, and its retail arm, which is under pressure from stretched household budgets.
Hotels reported $2.1 billion in sales, up 4.1% for the year, with growth across all four key drivers: food, bars, gaming and accommodation. Earnings in the segment edged up 1.4% to $444 million, with sales accelerating in the second half on the back of the British Lions rugby tour, festive trading periods and Easter celebrations.
Beattie said the shift reflected changing consumer habits: “We think there’s been a subtle shift in where people enjoy alcoholic beverages. The way I would characterise it is that maybe the Tuesday evening a bottle of wine with dinner has been replaced with pub trivia with your friends on a Wednesday night.”
Liquor retailing told a different story. Sales across Dan Murphy’s and BWS fell 1.2% to $10 billion, while earnings dropped nearly 18% to $563 million. The company cited reduced basket sizes, heavier demand for entry-level price points and a “lag effect” from alcohol excise increases.
“Where we are seeing cost-of-living pressure playing out is (where we see) increasing sales in products at the entry level price point of their categories – but that is one sub segment of our overall customer base,” Beattie said. She added that wealthier suburbs continued to show resilience, especially in premium wine: “We also see wine in their premium price point, the $25-plus bottles of wine have continued to be in growth in the last year.”
Endeavour is navigating a period of leadership change after the shock exit of executive chairman Ari Mervis earlier this month. With an interim chair, interim CEO and interim CFO now in place, the business is awaiting the arrival of new chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka, formerly of Virgin Australia, in early 2026.
Rejecting suggestions that her team was “treading water” until Hrdlicka’s arrival, Beattie said: “I’ve been out in both our hotels and our retail stores in three states in the last two weeks, and I’m really excited about how those teams are showing up and how they are driving, making sure, that – whether it be a store or whether it be a hotel – they’re pulling out all the stops to make sure that customers will come to them for their occasions.”
Revenue for the year fell 2% to $12.06 billion, in line with guidance, as the group also absorbed costs from its ongoing separation from Woolworths, dubbed One Endeavour.
A final dividend of 6.3 cents a share will be paid on October 14, down from 7.5 cents a year earlier.
Jonathan Jackson, 26th August 2025
