how come supermarkets can sale beer so cheap when pubs cant?

Answer 1

Because they buy in bulk and, unless a pub is a free house they can only serve drinks by a chosen supplier at a predetermined price.

Answer 2

Because you're not just paying for the beer, you're paying for the environment. Different business models.

A supermarket is crammed full of shelves of stuff, with no space to loiter. The space in a pub is mostly comfortable seats and tables, with a small part left over to the bar and the kitchen.

Also serving drinks in glasses is more labour intensive than scanning bottles through a check-out.

If you take beer home you pour it yourself and wash up afterwards. In a pub you pay for the privilege of having someone take your glass away and wash it for you.

And of course pubs are after a profit- so is every business, that's the point of business.

Answer 3

Its the overhead. A store just stocks the beer, but a pub or a bar employs someone to serve the beer. The regular store also spreads the cost of its rent over everything it sells, but the pub or bar must pay all of its rent from just what it sells, which is mainly the beer. You also pay for atmosphere. True, you can drink your beer at home, there is nothing wrong with that, but if you want a friendly, comfortable atmosphere with people you know and enjoy being around, you pay some extra for the priviledge.

Answer 4

Because supermarkets have other sources of income such as clothing, food etc. They get HUGE profits every year and so can afford to put things at low prices. Pubs only sell beer and food and are selling it at the price its supposed to be sold at. Pubs don't get many profits so they sell as low as they can without going into the red. More pubs then supermarkets go under every year.

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Answer 5

Most pubs are either owned by or tied to a brewery who dictate the prices not the landlord.
The supermarket chain is Brewer - Supermarket - Customer.
The pub chain is Brewer - Brewery (that owns the pub if not the actual brewer) - Pub - Customer.

Answer 6

Yes, the smoking ban is the cause for the downturn in pub trade, about 6 of my friends no longer come out for a pint. I am a non smoker but it never bothered me if someone smoked next to me. It was part of their relaxation after working to have a pint and a smoke. In my opinion, if the pub is large enough there should be a designated smoking room, as indeed there was in all old pubs, surely a couple of efficient extractor fans wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to fit .

Answer 7

The supermarket chain buys huge amounts which is then distributed to the various stores. Bigger quantities mean bigger discounts. Also beer is just one of the items contributing to the turnover and profit of the supermarket , in a pub it is the main item..

Answer 8

Pubs don't want to...but They could.

Supermarket profit margins on sales they make are pretty slim

Why do Movie Theathres charge so much for a soda? When in the supermarket you can get the same thing for 200 times less the price.

Answer 9

My guess is that supermarkets sell a variety of products and can make less on some (beer perhaps) so that people come in and but their more profitable items. Also, it is my understanding that supermarkets have a lower profitability margin than some other businesses. That is, they make less per item, but make up for this by selling a lot of items.

Answer 10

they make there profit on the food

a lot of supermarkets actually sell beer at a loss , to encourage shoppers to shop at there store

i bought 3 cases of lager for 20 pounds last week , thats 72 cans , thats cheaper than i can buy soft drinks in the same store

in my pub i get 8 pints for the same money


all the best
Ian

Answer 11

Supermarkets buy in bulk. Also pubs charge the most that they can get away with,