The economic downturn may have hampered your spending and consumption habits, but when it comes to drinking, rest assured, as you can still cherish a glass of your favourite liquor in a bar for as low as Rs 69, provided you are in Bangalore or Gurgaon.

Kishore Biyani-promoted The Sports Bar is trying to cash in on the liquidity crunch and has cut rates by almost half. Galaxy Entertainment, a group company of Biyani-owned Future Group, runs the bars.

Aptly termed ‘Corporate Bailout Plan’, the strategy entails selling all domestic and Indian-made foreign liquor below Rs 99, excluding taxes. The company has additionally cut the prices of imported brands such as Black Label, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam by at least 20 per cent.

The company is targeting executives in corporate centres and is offering the concessional rates in two of their nine outlets at Church Street in Bangalore and Gurgaon central. It, however, is not looking at introducing these prices in seven other branches, including the ones in Mumbai and Delhi.

“We are looking at stimulating cash flow and expect 20-25 per cent extra sales in the next couple of months by charging affordable rates,” said Ranjith Rajasekharan, marketing head of Future Leisure & Entertainment. The bar plans to continue these prices till the economic meltdown washes out. “We have not kept the offer closing date in mind,” he added.

Rajasekharan said it was too early to determine the impact on margins of The Sports Bar. Bar economics earlier was dependent on a revenue concept of 100 people spending Rs 5,000 each (on a daily basis) at one outlet, but they are now experiencing less footfalls with only 70 customers spending Rs 3,000 each, said Sandeep Verma, director of The Institute of Bar Operations and Management.

Under the Corporate Bailout Plan, beer will be available at almost half the rates. Pint bottles of Kingfisher and Tiger are priced at Rs 69 whereas a full bottle would cost Rs 99. A 30 ml shot of locally made whiskies such as Blenders Pride, Signature and Royal Challenge will be priced Rs 74 from Rs 134 earlier. Old Monk rum and Seagrams Gin will cost Rs 69, though these were earlier sold at Rs 124. While prices of Smirnoff vodka and Bacardi white rum have been kept at Rs 74.

Verma hopes people would get attracted to such bar prices. “The bar industry, which operates on the basis of the spending power of customers, has been hit because people have cut down on expenditure. The pricing might attract people to go out more,” he added.

saahilanant

@mydigitalfc.com