Liquorland (Australia) Pty Ltd - proposed acquisition of Cellarbrations in Pinjarra WA

Summary

Liquorland proposed to acquire the retail liquor business trading as Cellarbrations at Pinjarra Junction Shopping Centre, taking over the Cellarbrations lease for the remaining lease period.

As part of the acquisition, Liquorland proposed to surrender the lease and liquor licence for its existing location within Pinjarra Junction Shopping Centre.

Market definition

The ACCC considered the proposed acquisition in the context of the following markets:

i. the retail sale of packaged liquor for off-premises consumption in the local area surrounding the target business (the local retail liquor market);
ii. the retail sale of packaged liquor for off-premises consumption in Western Australia (the WA retail liquor market); and
iii. the Western Australia market for the wholesale acquisition of liquor (the WA wholesale liquor market).

Competition analysis

The ACCC considered that the proposed acquisition was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any relevant market.

In relation to the local retail liquor market the ACCC considered that:

i. the proposed acquisition did not result in the aggregation of liquor licences, which would be likely to facilitate the entry of another liquor store in the future;
ii. barriers to entry were unlikely to increase as a result of the proposed acquisition; and
iii. the competitors remaining in and around Pinjarra would continue to provide a competitive constraint on Liquorland following the acquisition.

In relation to the WA retail liquor market and WA wholesale liquor market, the ACCC considered that the proposed acquisition would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition as it would result in only a very small increase in market shares as the acquisition was of a single site only.