Dan Murphys not stocking Coopers DIY bits and Kits anymore?

[iBooz2]

Went down to my local DM's the other day (Ringwood VIC) to buy some Coopers Light Dry malt and had trouble finding where it was on the shelf.  Normally there is quite a sizable shelf space allocated to the Coopers kits and bits.  Found two FV packs in the clearance section but that is all, and I had to ask where the LDM was.

Lady pointed me to a small out of the way shelf and when I asked her where did all the Coopers products go?  She said this is all we are going to carry from now on.  By the look of what was on offer, much smaller range than before so suspect that this was the end of the line and maybe they will not restock when these few bits and pieces are sold off.  I suspect there has been some change to the DM's supplier or sales strategy, or should I say Endevour Group (EDV) as they are the owners of the DM brand and stores.  

I have not been down to my local big W who in the past also stocked a large range of Coopers Kits and bits to see if there is any change in that store.

Can forum members see if any change in their local DM's stores re Coopers stuff and report back.

@Coopers DIY Beer Team is there a reason EDV are not going to stock your Kits and Bits anymore?

[Triple B Brewing]

1 hour ago, iBooz2 said:

Went down to my local DM's the other day (Ringwood VIC) to buy some Coopers Light Dry malt and had trouble finding where it was on the shelf.  Normally there is quite a sizable shelf space allocated to the Coopers kits and bits.  Found two FV packs in the clearance section but that is all, and I had to ask where the LDM was.

Lady pointed me to a small out of the way shelf and when I asked her where did all the Coopers products go?  She said this is all we are going to carry from now on.  By the look of what was on offer, much smaller range than before so suspect that this was the end of the line and maybe they will not restock when these few bits and pieces are sold off.  I suspect there has been some change to the DM's supplier or sales strategy, or should I say Endevour Group (EDV) as they are the owners of the DM brand and stores.  

I have not been down to my local big W who in the past also stocked a large range of Coopers Kits and bits to see if there is any change in that store.

Can forum members see if any change in their local DM's stores re Coopers stuff and report back.

@Coopers DIY Beer Team is there a reason EDV are not going to stock your Kits and Bits anymore?

Yep, same at my local in Busselton WA - and has been for quite some time - My understanding is DM's have reported recently a drop in sales share in the market and they were going to roll back to more align again with their core business strategy (whatever that means in business speak).

In Woolies a coupla dayz ago and not a great deal on offer there either - I get the feeling that is just our local store though  

[RDT2]

11 minutes ago, Triple B Brewing said:

Yep, same at my local in Busselton WA - and has been for quite some time - My understanding is DM's have reported recently a drop in sales share in the market and they were going to roll back to more align again with their core business strategy (whatever that means in business speak).

In Woolies a coupla dayz ago and not a great deal on offer there either - I get the feeling that is just our local store though  

My Big W still seems to have plenty of stock here in Perth!

[jennyss]

10 minutes ago, Triple B Brewing said:

In Woolies a coupla dayz ago and not a great deal on offer there either

I will report back after I go to Big W for some Coopers Brew Enhancer later in the week. A few weeks ago I was pleased to see an increased range of Coopers extracts. Our Woolies supermarket has a much more limited range.

[kmar92]

My local Dan Murphy's drastically reduced their home brew stuff from Coopers a few years ago and moved it to a very out of the way location in the store. I haven't even bothered to see if they still stock any home brew stuff these days. As is the usual with these chains (similar to what the 2 big supermarkets do) they tend to demand a price from the suppliers (in this case Cooper's) to stock products in a good location in the store and perhaps Cooper's have bucked against them and Dan's have taken retribution against them.

My local BigW also rationalized their home brewing stocks some time ago and reduced the range that they stock quite substantially and now just carry a bare minimum of Cooper's products, they no longer carry any of the Thomas Cooper's series of extracts and have a limited range of the other Cooper's product lines. Again I reckon that they have reduced their stocks that they carry in a way that is not related to the demand for the product but more in line in what they can screw the supplier for in the form of margins, etc.

A sad state of affairs and an affront to true market competition, hopefully some of the many enquiries that have started into the market power of the duopoly that we have in Australian retailing will cause some meaningful changes for the better, as far as competition goes.

[Triple B Brewing]

3 minutes ago, kmar92 said:

My local Dan Murphy's drastically reduced their home brew stuff from Coopers a few years ago and moved it to a very out of the way location in the store. I haven't even bothered to see if they still stock any home brew stuff these days. As is the usual with these chains (similar to what the 2 big supermarkets do) they tend to demand a price from the suppliers (in this case Cooper's) to stock products in a good location in the store and perhaps Cooper's have bucked against them and Dan's have taken retribution against them.

My local BigW also rationalized their home brewing stocks some time ago and reduced the range that they stock quite substantially and now just carry a bare minimum of Cooper's products, they no longer carry any of the Thomas Cooper's series of extracts and have a limited range of the other Cooper's product lines. Again I reckon that they have reduced their stocks that they carry in a way that is not related to the demand for the product but more in line in what they can screw the supplier for in the form of margins, etc.

A sad state of affairs and an affront to true market competition, hopefully some of the many enquiries that have started into the market power of the duopoly that we have in Australian retailing will cause some meaningful changes for the better, as far as competition goes.

Yep, gotta agree with that @kmar92 - fingers crossed there is a difference made both for the suppliers and the customers - just can't imagine what it would be like to be a farmer these dayz - "Bloody Hard" just doesn't scratch the surface I'd reckon and yet very few of us in our community seem to understand the importance of supporting our farmers 

[Aussiekraut]

12 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

Went down to my local DM's the other day (Ringwood VIC) to buy some Coopers Light Dry malt and had trouble finding where it was on the shelf.  Normally there is quite a sizable shelf space allocated to the Coopers kits and bits.  Found two FV packs in the clearance section but that is all, and I had to ask where the LDM was.

Lady pointed me to a small out of the way shelf and when I asked her where did all the Coopers products go?  She said this is all we are going to carry from now on.  By the look of what was on offer, much smaller range than before so suspect that this was the end of the line and maybe they will not restock when these few bits and pieces are sold off.  I suspect there has been some change to the DM's supplier or sales strategy, or should I say Endevour Group (EDV) as they are the owners of the DM brand and stores.  

I have not been down to my local big W who in the past also stocked a large range of Coopers Kits and bits to see if there is any change in that store.

Can forum members see if any change in their local DM's stores re Coopers stuff and report back.

@Coopers DIY Beer Team is there a reason EDV are not going to stock your Kits and Bits anymore?

The last DM I remember seeing Coopers products was in Sumner, here in Brissy. They did have a few boxes with FV kits and a reasonable selection of cans but no un-hopped malt. They had BEs and carbonation drops but no DME. Woolies is usually a sad affair. The one in Sunnybank doesn't stock ANY homebrewing supplies at all, others have a few cans of Coopers and their own and if lucky, some BE and drops. Big W ranges vary from shop to shop by the look of it. Some are fairly well stocked, whereas others have barely anything. I did notice shelf space shrinking though. What I can't seem to find in any shop is the aforementioned DME. 

[Classic Brewing Co]

52 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

The last DM I remember seeing Coopers products was in Sumner, here in Brissy. They did have a few boxes with FV kits and a reasonable selection of cans but no un-hopped malt. They had BEs and carbonation drops but no DME. Woolies is usually a sad affair. The one in Sunnybank doesn't stock ANY homebrewing supplies at all, others have a few cans of Coopers and their own and if lucky, some BE and drops. Big W ranges vary from shop to shop by the look of it. Some are fairly well stocked, whereas others have barely anything. I did notice shelf space shrinking though. What I can't seem to find in any shop is the aforementioned DME. 

One of the bigger Big W stores in Adelaide near me has an enormous range carrying everything including the Thomas Cooper range, plenty of core range extracts, BE 1 2 3, LDM etc. also a big range of Bew Kits & accessories.

Not far from me there is a Drake's with a smaller range & also a Dan Murphy's with similar.

The big Woolworths at Gleleng has no stock.

[Cult Of One]

Lucky for me I have a Big W nearby fully stocked and an independent home brewing shop that has a good range and friendly team called brew barn which I like to support. My local Dan Murphy has basically zero so does Wollies

 

I must admit to have been very slack on the brewing with my last brew done in September. Had family out from OS who took care of it for me in November and work kinda got in the way of my next batches. April will be hitting Brew Barn, can't face winter without a stout in the house

[iBooz2]

I don't think my local Dan's ever stocked the Thomas Cooper range of kits, but they did all the other ones and always plenty of brew enhancers, malt, carb drops and screw-tops and crown seals etc.  They never stocked the tins of liquid malts at all just the BE and DME packs.

My local Woolworths supermarket used to stock the whole range of original series kits, plus BE #1 and #2, LDM, carb drops, screw-tops, crown seal caps and that was very handy for me, but they stopped selling all that range over two years ago so hence I have to run over to Dan's.

I hope that my local Big-W still has kept all their range, and I might make a special trip down there to see what they have.  It's just a PITA as they are located in a really big shopping centre and it's the pits for parking and traffic.

[Red devil 44]

Haven’t been to Dans for ages, but my local Big W near Ipswich Qld has a fairly large range of Coopers Cans, BE1, 2 & 3, Dextrose, and bits and pieces like Airlocks, Rubber Gromets, Hydrometer etc 

[Coopers DIY Beer Team]

On 3/10/2024 at 6:13 PM, iBooz2 said:

Went down to my local DM's the other day (Ringwood VIC) to buy some Coopers Light Dry malt and had trouble finding where it was on the shelf.  Normally there is quite a sizable shelf space allocated to the Coopers kits and bits.  Found two FV packs in the clearance section but that is all, and I had to ask where the LDM was.

Lady pointed me to a small out of the way shelf and when I asked her where did all the Coopers products go?  She said this is all we are going to carry from now on.  By the look of what was on offer, much smaller range than before so suspect that this was the end of the line and maybe they will not restock when these few bits and pieces are sold off.  I suspect there has been some change to the DM's supplier or sales strategy, or should I say Endevour Group (EDV) as they are the owners of the DM brand and stores.  

I have not been down to my local big W who in the past also stocked a large range of Coopers Kits and bits to see if there is any change in that store.

Can forum members see if any change in their local DM's stores re Coopers stuff and report back.

@Coopers DIY Beer Team is there a reason EDV are not going to stock your Kits and Bits anymore?

Hey @iBooz2

Dan Murphy's is still a stockist of Coopers DIY Beer products; however, product ranges do vary from store to store. Ultimately, the retailer decides the range of products in each of their stores. We are always advocating for a more extensive and consistent product range with all retailers. In these instances where you're not seeing the product range you expect or desire, you as the customer have the most influence and we recommend speaking to the store manager in store, or calling their customer service line (1300 723 388 - Dan Murphy's).

Cheers, 

Coopers DIY Beer Team

[iBooz2]

3 hours ago, Coopers DIY Beer Team said:

Hey @iBooz2

Dan Murphy's is still a stockist of Coopers DIY Beer products; however, product ranges do vary from store to store. Ultimately, the retailer decides the range of products in each of their stores. We are always advocating for a more extensive and consistent product range with all retailers. In these instances where you're not seeing the product range you expect or desire, you as the customer have the most influence and we recommend speaking to the store manager in store, or calling their customer service line (1300 723 388 - Dan Murphy's).

Cheers, 

Coopers DIY Beer Team

Thanks Coopers DIY Beer Team, I will email the manager at my store.  Also, I will have a chat to my local Ritchies IGA manager too.  They (the local IGA) have recently been taken over by Ritchies and have just started to stock a lot of curing and smoking products which is good to see from my point of view.  So, I wonder if they would be interested in taking up some Coopers DIY products as well.  - Cheers.

[Liambeer]

Clearly the products don’t sell well enough to keep them on the shelves. Go support you lhbs 

[iBooz2]

28 minutes ago, Liambeer said:

Clearly the products don’t sell well enough to keep them on the shelves. Go support you lhbs 

Used to support my LHBS but they sold me way out of date yeast sachets once and old stale pre-milled grain packs.  And their Coopers kits, well you have to be careful (and I suspect a lot of other brand kits too) because a many of those were right on or past their best before dates, so I don't bother anymore, besides, the parking is horrendous near their store.  I may call in for a browse just to see if anything has changed in the near future.  Their turn-over of stock must be slow too, to have it sit there for so long.

Edited March 13 by iBooz2

[Shamus O'Sean]

28 minutes ago, iBooz2 said:

Used to support my LHBS but they sold me way out of date yeast sachets once and old stale pre-milled grain packs.  And their Coopers kits, well you have to be careful (and I suspect a lot of other brand kits too) because a many of those were right on or past their best before dates, so I don't bother anymore, besides, the parking is horrendous near their store.  I may call in for a browse just to see if anything has changed in the near future.  Their turn-over of stock must be slow too, to have it sit there for so long.

I know a lhbs like that.  I have also seen when somebody buys a store like that, with newer modern ideas, the same store can flourish.

[Classic Brewing Co]

10 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I know a lhbs like that.  I have also seen when somebody buys a store like that, with newer modern ideas, the same store can flourish.

Yeah, experienced shop owners rotate stock more efficiently & discount old stock to make way for new stocks.

It makes things run much smoother.

[iBooz2]

11 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I know a lhbs like that.  I have also seen when somebody buys a store like that, with newer modern ideas, the same store can flourish.

I have not been to my LHBS since C19 but on my last visit to buy some kit cans and noticing many were out of date I queried the staff.  I would have thought that the suppliers would help rotate their stock to keep their products, in date and on the shop shelves.  The lady said, "those suppliers don't look after us, once we buy it, we are on our own".  She stated some suppliers were worse than others re negotiating new stock at a discount and taking back out of date returns, most did not want to know about the problem.  You would have to know your forecast sales, customers buying habits and seasonal trends very well so you can place the right orders at the right time to keep turn-over fresh.

[iBooz2]

5 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Yeah, experienced shop owners rotate stock more efficiently & discount old stock to make way for new stocks.

It makes things run much smoother.

Makes it hard for the shop keeper when there is so little margin in the fresh product to begin with to be able to give a fair discount on old stock though.  It would just be a loss right off the bat I reckon.

[Oldbloke]

My DM doesn't carry Dark Ale these day. I asked at the cash register and just got fobbed off. So, ive continued buy it all at the LHBS. Bad luck Dan.

[glivo]

Order online. 6 weeks to pickup. No problem.

[Tricky Micky]

On 3/10/2024 at 6:43 PM, iBooz2 said:

Can forum members see if any change in their local DM's stores re Coopers stuff and report back.

Yep, same at the DM Doncaster East shop as well. 

[jennyss]

In Dubbo our Big W shop has recently expanded it's range of Coopers extracts and adjuncts. The Mitre 10 Hardware shop, under new owners, has also expanded it's range of extracts, including several different brands; and also stocks big bags of LDM, and some hop pellets. Woolworths supermarket has a very limited range of extracts only.

As others suggest, I must contact managers and 'vote' for more homebrew products. Online shopping is a good option, but the freight cost varies.

[Triple B Brewing]

On 3/21/2024 at 12:40 PM, jennyss said:

Online shopping is a good option, but the freight cost varies.

I’m still voting for an extension to Coopers Club Membership benefits @jennyss 

Remove the minimum order amount and provide free delivery 365 days a year for club members - Carn Frank @Coopers DIY Beer Team  any word from the Coopers Family / Board yet ?

[Coopers DIY Beer Team]

On 3/27/2024 at 8:27 PM, Triple B Brewing said:

Remove the minimum order amount and provide free delivery 365 days a year for club members - Carn Frank @Coopers DIY Beer Team  any word from the Coopers Family / Board yet ?

We've already explained why we impose a six can limit. It is to ensure that we make back our costs during those free freight periods. If we were to offer free freight on a permanent basis the Online Store would run at a loss. Cheers, Frank.