Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
BLEASDALE SECOND INNINGS MALBEC 2009
Check out this website I found at australianwinejournal.blogspot.com
Bleasdale, a really great stop down in Langhorne Creek. Free pour, taste at your own pace/style yet still great friendly staff! These guys really got me interested in Malbec...
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Beer wars: big retail v Foster's - The Age
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Foster's cuts beer supply
Foster's cut supplies to Coles and Woolworths after learning they planned to extend their price war to beer, Ian Verrender reports.
Beer has become the new battleground in the supermarket price war after Australia's biggest brewer, Foster's, pulled key beer brands from Coles and Woolworths upon learning of a plan to sell them for $28 a slab - well below cost.
The Age has learned that Foster's, in a late-night operation this month, stopped the delivery of tens of thousands of slabs of VB, Carlton Draught and Pure Blonde to Coles' First Choice liquor stores and Woolworths' Dan Murphy's chain.
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An order went out around the country for Linfox delivery trucks loaded with beer to be emptied until further notice.
The decision came in response to intelligence received that Coles had prepared a brochure advertising brands including VB for $28 a slab.
A slab of 24 VB stubbies usually wholesales to the big supermarket chains for about $33 and retails for $38. Smaller retailers say they are being charged between $37 and $41 - with some even higher - for the same slab.
''We personally sell a slab of VB for $40.95, making a profit margin of around $1.95 and that's not taking into account the cost of refrigeration, etc,'' said Justin Grant, who said he was an independent liquor retailer with more than 30 years in the industry.
A slab of 24 VB stubbies usually wholesales to the big supermarket chains for about $33 and retails for $38. Smaller retailers say they are being charged between $37 and $41 - with some even higher - for the same slab.
''We personally sell a slab of VB for $40.95, making a profit margin of around $1.95 and that's not taking into account the cost of refrigeration, etc,'' said Justin Grant, who said he was an independent liquor retailer with more than 30 years in the industry.
Inner city prices can be even higher. One independent outlet on Spencer Street in Melbourne's CBD was selling a slab of VB for $48.99, while a nearby IGA rival was offering them at $52.81.
A Foster's spokesman said supply was withheld to protect its brands against ''loss-leading'' - the practice of deliberately selling a product at a loss in the hope of attracting customers who will also buy other products that are not discounted. ''We take loss-leading of our brands very seriously," the Foster's spokesman said.
For at least three days this month, some liquor stores put up signs explaining why they were out of VB. One sign said: "We're out of stock because Foster's, the supplier of VB, says we are selling it too cheap."
Coles and Woolworths, which control 50 per cent of Australia's liquor distribution, have never before been taken on in this way by a supplier.
The milk industry, which is the subject of a continuing price war between the supermarket chains, has been unable to stop the discounting because it involves brands that are not well known and suppliers lacking the same market clout as Foster's.
There are also legal issues associated with withdrawing supply, including restraint of trade. Foster's relied on an aspect of competition law that permits companies to withhold supply when their products are being used as loss-leaders.
Apart from the objections of Foster's, the move by the big retailers to try to extend the milk war into the multibillion-dollar beer industry could also raise social issues about whether an age-restricted and potentially harmful product such as alcohol should be used as a loss-leader. Foster's and its main rival, Lion Nathan, have spent large amounts of money and time trying to promote the notion of responsible drinking.
By trying to sell alcohol at lower prices than bottled water, the supermarkets risk drawing the negative attention of government and regulators concerned about rises in drunken violence, one industry expert warned.
In Britain, brewers persuaded legislators to pass a law preventing the sale of alcoholic beverages at below cost price.
The aborted beer war between Coles and Woolworths was not the first such attempt at heavy discounting in Australia. In February, online discounter getwinesdirect.com.au tried selling Crown Lager for below wholesale price.
Woolworths is the biggest player in liquor retailing, with more than 1200 stores, including the Dan Murphy's chain.
Asked about recent events involving discounting of Foster's products, a Woolworths spokeswoman said: ''Beer is an extremely competitive product regardless of whether it is sold at independent or larger chains.''
A Coles spokesman said: ''We have been trying to offer the most competitive beer offer for our customers whenever we can.''
On the Foster's intervention, the Coles spokesman said: ''There was some disruption to the supply, but that has not been material to the business and we have continued to meet consumer demand for beer.''
via news.google.com
Had a conversation with a Rep about the Wine-side of this war today. As a consumer, one might bemoan the missed opportunity to relive genuine 1990s Beer Prices, but it is unlikely to bode well for the future if there are only two retailers left in the market at the end of the "war". On the wine side, it seems it is in the interests of the, newly renamed Treasury Wine Estate, to focus on Independent Channel and On-Premise brands... RSA is an interesting diversion but IMHO just that..
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Australian Defence Force National Australian Football Championships [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Department of Defence Media Mail List
------------------------------------------------------------------------ MSPA 100/10 Friday, 9 April 2010 Australian Defence Force National Australian Football Championships What: 2010 Australian Services Australian Football Association (ASAFA)
National Championships. Why: The championship games will determine the Australian Defence
Force (ADF) national champion men's and women's teams, with Navy the
defending champion in both arenas. The national carnival also provides the pool of players for
selection in the ADF Men's and Women's All Stars teams, with the ADF
Men's All Stars to play against a Combined Emergency Services team, as
part of a Services Challenge in Adelaide on the Anzac Day weekend. Where: Whitten Oval
417 Barkly Street, Footscray West, Melbourne When: The draw is:
Game 1: 14 April - Whitten Oval
1300: Women - Army v RAAF
1500: Men - Army v RAAF Game 2: 16 April - Whitten Oval
1200: Women - Navy v First game loser
1415: Men - Navy v First game loser Game 3: 18 April - Whitten Oval
1100: Women - Navy v First game winner
1315: Men - Navy v First game winner Who: Players and officials will be available for interview in the
lead-up and during the championships. Photo editors are welcome to send
a photographer. Media note:
The ASAFA National Championship is the major event for Navy, Army and
Air Force footballers and provides an opportunity for players to
represent their respective Service and the ADF. Spirited and fair
competition is the hallmark of the championship and spectators are more
than welcome to witness the high-quality action. Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: (02) 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664 DEFENCE MEDIA ALERT Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence,
Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999, Fax: 02 6265 1545
Media Releases are available via e-mail if you register at
www.defence.gov.au/media
________________________________________________________________________ If you wish to unsubscribe go to http://152.91.28.130/unsubscribe.cfm
Enter your E-mail address, click the Submit button"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence
and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914.
If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact
the sender and delete the email.
Department of Defence Media Mail List
------------------------------------------------------------------------ MSPA 100/10 Friday, 9 April 2010 Australian Defence Force National Australian Football Championships What: 2010 Australian Services Australian Football Association (ASAFA)
National Championships. Why: The championship games will determine the Australian Defence
Force (ADF) national champion men's and women's teams, with Navy the
defending champion in both arenas. The national carnival also provides the pool of players for
selection in the ADF Men's and Women's All Stars teams, with the ADF
Men's All Stars to play against a Combined Emergency Services team, as
part of a Services Challenge in Adelaide on the Anzac Day weekend. Where: Whitten Oval
417 Barkly Street, Footscray West, Melbourne When: The draw is:
Game 1: 14 April - Whitten Oval
1300: Women - Army v RAAF
1500: Men - Army v RAAF Game 2: 16 April - Whitten Oval
1200: Women - Navy v First game loser
1415: Men - Navy v First game loser Game 3: 18 April - Whitten Oval
1100: Women - Navy v First game winner
1315: Men - Navy v First game winner Who: Players and officials will be available for interview in the
lead-up and during the championships. Photo editors are welcome to send
a photographer. Media note:
The ASAFA National Championship is the major event for Navy, Army and
Air Force footballers and provides an opportunity for players to
represent their respective Service and the ADF. Spirited and fair
competition is the hallmark of the championship and spectators are more
than welcome to witness the high-quality action. Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: (02) 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664 DEFENCE MEDIA ALERT Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence,
Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999, Fax: 02 6265 1545
Media Releases are available via e-mail if you register at
www.defence.gov.au/media
________________________________________________________________________ If you wish to unsubscribe go to http://152.91.28.130/unsubscribe.cfm
Enter your E-mail address, click the Submit button"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence
and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914.
If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact
the sender and delete the email.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
TEDTalks (video) - Hans Rosling
Brilliant. Check out this podcast on iTunes:http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=160892972
Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Handheld Cellphone Bans Don't Reduce Car Crashes After All [Driving]
Unfortunately, the answer will be to up Policing
30 January 2010 5:31
by Brian Barrett
Handheld Cellphone Bans Don't Reduce Car Crashes After All [Driving]
Now, this seems different from specifically texting while driving, which is demonstrably dangerous. But in the four states the IIHS studied, the implementation of a ban on hand-held phones behind the wheel made no difference in the number of accidents:
Month-to-month fluctuations in rates of collision claims in jurisdictions with bans didn't change from before to after the laws were enacted. Nor did the patterns change in comparison with trends in jurisdictions that didn't have such laws.
Honestly, this makes some sense, given that it's not phones themselves that are the problem, but the distraction they cause. There are plenty of other legal methods of taking your eyes off the road, and a hands-free conversation isn't necessarily any safer than one where you've got your phone in your hand.
It's unlikely that this will cause any states with bans of cellphone use while driving to backtrack, but it may force other local governments to look a little more broadly at what's behind all those collisions. [NY Times via IIHS]
Driving Bans Cellphones Laws Legal Studies
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
‘Legs Tight, Butt Tight, Breathe!’ Inside an Air Force Centrifuge
27 January 2010 5:29
by Noah Shachtman
‘Legs Tight, Butt Tight, Breathe!’ Inside an Air Force Centrifuge
Reason # 6,247,568,657 why I will never become an Air Force pilot: There’s no freaking way I could pull 7 Gs. Watch these wannabe dogfighters give it a try at the centrifuge at Randolph Air Force Base. The fun starts about 1:55 in.
Air Force Randolph AFB Video Fix
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