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About Retail Drinks Australia
Retail Drinks Australia is a national industry body representing the interests of Australia’s thriving $18 billion retail liquor sector. This sector plays a vital role in the Australian economy, providing direct employment for approximately 75,000 individuals. Moreover, the presence of 7,000 retail (packaged) liquor licences forms the cornerstone of an industry that indirectly supports nearly 240,000 jobs across the nation.
Formed in 2018 from the consolidation of the former state and territory Liquor Stores Associations, Retail Drinks emerged in direct response to its members’ request for a singular, nationally unified organisation. It offers unwavering leadership, advocacy, services and support for its members.
Their vision is to enhance the freedom to retail responsibly, to nurture a stable political, social and commercial environment in which the retail liquor industry may grow sustainably.
The Challenge
Before their national merger in 2018, Retail Drinks Australia faced a significant challenge. Their state and territory organisations operated as separate entities, each with its own boards, staffing, financial processes, administration and reporting requirements. This resulted in unnecessary duplication of resources that could have been better utilised. Additionally, various entities were using different systems and software for accounting and bookkeeping, leading to further inefficiencies.
How Carbon Helped
Retail Drinks Australia found a solution in Carbon. With expertise in mergers and consolidations, Carbon stepped in at the right time to support the national merger. The first task was to assist the newly formed Retail Drinks Board of Directors and Management Team with the timely receipt, review, and clean-up/harmonisation of all merging entities’ finances in preparation for their respective final financial audits, Annual General Meetings, and effective wind-up/de-registration.
In addition to this, Carbon facilitated a seamless transition to Xero, providing essential training for Retail Drinks’ key team members. This enabled them to effectively manage day-to-day financial operations like invoicing, coding, reconciliation and reporting while ensuring that critical compliance work such as BAS, payroll and superannuation was expertly handled.
The results of this collaboration have been transformative. Retail Drinks Australia now operates with enhanced efficiency, translating to significant time and cost savings that can be redirected towards providing even better service to their members. Carbon’s role goes beyond being a financial services firm; they have become valued Retail Drinks Associate Members and Industry Partners, offering their services and support to a growing number of members and affiliated industry organisations.