LiquorLand (sometimes referred to as Liquorland) is a franchise of independently owned bottle shops around

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, operated by Foodstuffs. LiquorLand is part of the Airpoints loyalty scheme.

Brands

LiquorLand (1981-present)

LiquorLand was established in 1981 as a franchise of independently owned liquor stores. By 2002, under the ownership of

DB Breweries DB Breweries is a New Zealand–based brewing company, owned by Heineken Asia Pacific. Founded in 1930 by Sir Henry Kelliher and W Joseph Coutts, the partners purchased Levers and Co. and the Waitemata Brewery Co. in Ōtāhuhu. Asia Pacific Br ...

, it had 72 stores. By 2005, it had 80 stores. Foodstuffs purchased the franchise in 2009 for an undisclosed sum. Woolworths Group had also attempted to purchase the chain.

Birds Liquorsave (1991-2005)

Birds Liquorsave was established in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

in 1991. It had seven stores in Hamilton,

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

and

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

by 2005. The Mill took over Birds Liquorsave in 2005, rebranding the stores as The Mill Liquorsave. The stores were converted into LiquorLand stores, after Foodstuffs purchased The Mill in 2015.

The Mill (1993-2015)

The Mill was established in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

in 1993. It had 24 stores in 2004, and had 31 stores by 2005. It took over Birds Liquorsave in October 2005, rebranding the stores as The Mill Liquorsave. It also introduced no-frills stores in March 2006. Independent Brewers, a

Papakura Papakura is a suburb of South Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. The ar ...

-based alcohol company owned by

Asahi Breweries The is a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: Alcoholic drink, alcoholic beverage business (40.5%), over ...

, purchased The Mill franchise in May 2013. The franchise reached 35 stores; most were located in the North Island but none were located in Auckland. Independent Brewers sold The Mill to Foodstuffs for an undisclosed sum in October 2015, The stores were converted into LiquorLand stores. None of the stores were located in Auckland.

Duffy & Finn's (2006-2010)

Foodstuffs established the Duffy & Finn's alcohol chain in 2006. The first outlet, a small liquor store, opened in

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

in August. The second outlet, a $1 million 800m² large-format store, opened in

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...

in November. The chain was based on Australian liquor chain Dan Murphy's. At the time, Woolworths Group had been understood to be planning to expand the chain to New Zealand. The Duffy and Finn's store was phased out following Foodstuffs' purchase of LiquorLand in 2009. The two stores were continuing to operate in 2011. The brand was removed from the Foodstuffs website in the last three months of that year.

Henry's Beer, Wine & Spirits (2006-2023)

The first Henry's store was opened in Queenstown in October 2006. Foodstuffs purchased nine Imperial Discount Liquor stores in

Kaikōura Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, rebranding them as Henry's from June 2007. The Imperial Discount Liquor franchise had been operating since 2004. From late 2022, Foodstuffs began to phase out the Henry's Beer, Wine & Spirit brand. All 19 stores were converted to LiquorLand with the last store rebranding at the end of February 2023.

History

During the initial

COVID-19 lockdown During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

in March and April 2020, Foodstuffs was required to close its liquor stores and shift to online sales. When the stores were allowed to reopen, they began surveying customers on how the stores and website could be improved. In 2021, Foodstuffs reached an agreement with

The Trusts The Trusts are a group of two community-owned organisations (licensing trusts) with a near monopoly on the sale of alcohol in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland. They are one of the largest alcohol retailers in New Zealand. The Portage Lic ...

, to allow some of its WestLiquor stores in West Auckland to be re-branded as LiquorLand. Under the agreement, Foodstuffs can make recommendations on pricing.

References

{{Supermarkets in New Zealand Alcohol distribution retailers in New Zealand Retail companies established in 1981