Beer, Wine and Spirits (BWS) is an Australian

retail chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or ha ...

stores owned by Endeavour Group.

History

BWS began operations in June 2001 as a local neighbourhood bottleshop. BWS was a brand of the Woolworths Liquor Group which also included Dan Murphy's, Cellarmasters and Pinnacle Liquor. The freestanding liquor division of Woolworths was distinguished from the Woolworths Supermarket Liquor and Safeway Liquor stores, in that it stood alone from Supermarkets. The first BWS was opened in Cabramatta, Sydney, the site of a Woolworths owned Mac's Liquor Store. The Safeway brand including Safeway Liquor was later also rebranded Woolworths and Woolworths Liquor respectively. In 2012, Woolworths Liquor and BWS shared all promotions, prices and specials between the two brands. All 475 Woolworths Supermarket Liquor stores were rebranded to BWS by 2013, resulting in a network of 1,180 BWS stores after the rebranding. These stores now operate as free standing BWS stores, financially and managerially separate from the adjacent Woolworths supermarkets. A handful are known to be adjacent to

Coles Supermarkets Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operate ...

, such as in Mount Warren Park,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. As of June 2014, BWS has over 1,200 stores Australia wide, a majority including the ALH Group sites. They recently have been buying and converting independent liquor stores such as Darlinghurst Cellars along

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

near

Hyde Park, Sydney Hyde Park, Sydney, is an urban park, of , located in the central business district of Sydney, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest public parkland in Australia. Hyde Park is on the east ...

. BWS owns several beer brands including John Boston, Tun, Arc Valley and Sail & Anchor through Pinnacle Drinks. As of 2017, BWS has over 1,300 stores Australia wide. As of April 2019, BWS has 1,355 stores Australian wide. In 2019, Woolworths restructured its alcoholic drinks business to form Endeavour Group, including BWS. Endeavour Group demerged from Woolworths Group in June 2021.

References

External links

BWS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bws Alcohol distribution retailers in Australia Companies based in Sydney Retail companies established in 2001 Woolworths Group (Australia) 2001 establishments in Australia Wine retailers