Dry January risks drying up the pub trade altogether

I said in an earlier post that I wasn’t going to write about Dry January, and I’m going to stick with that, but only so far. This is because that whilst I’m not going to tackle the topic head-on – having done so several times in the past, I am going to write about the disastrous effects that well-meaning, but mis-guided gestures such as giving up the booze for the first month of the year, have on the licensed trade.

I was prompted to write this article following a post by avid Good Beer Guide pub ticker, Retired Martin who, last week, found himself the sole customer, in not just one, but two Berkshire pubs. Whilst Martin undoubtedly visits a lot more pubs than I do, his findings make for depressing reading, especially as they come hot on the heels of a depressed festive season.

We all know that the nation’s pubs and bars were hit by a wave of cancellations and “no shows” in the run-up to Christmas, a situation helped in no small manner by a whispering campaign, deliberately designed to deter drinkers and diners from going out and mixing with other people. The country’s Chief Medical Officer was one person behind this, but as he who looks like the sort of person who’s never had a day of fun in his entire life, this isn’t perhaps surprising.

With Christmas behind us, Dry January is hitting pubs and clubs hard, so much so that some members of the licensed trade are suggesting that Alcohol Concern, the charity behind this abstinence campaign, should find a better way to raise money without hitting local businesses. But with reports suggesting that over five million people in the UK will be going without a drink during January, this virtuous, “look at me” stance is having a disastrous effects on an already struggling hospitality sector.

It’s worth pointing out, that January is the worst month possible for people to be abstaining, especially as far as the licensed trade is concerned. I know from the personal experience of running an off-licence that, whilst Christmas is undoubtedly good for trade, you experience the complete opposite come the new year. After the over-indulgence and massive over-spend of the festive season, trade in January falls off a cliff. This plays serious havoc with your cash flow, as the Christmas bills all start to come in.

It is no exaggeration to say then, that January is often the month which breaks a publican’s business. This one month can undermine all the hard work of the year before and, the ones before that as well. This particular New Year is starting off from a position that is even lower than most, with many pubs, and even breweries, struggling to cope with such a massive dip in trade.

So, if you really care about pubs, January is definitely NOT the month to be going dry!