During the Thirsty Camel Forum held last week in Brisbane, National Liquor News Managing Editor Deb Jackson, caught up with General Manager Adrian Moelands to talk about the key strengths of Thirsty Camel Victoria and how it makes a difference for its members and for consumers.
For Moelands, Thirsty Camel Victoria’s biggest strength lies in its highly engaged membership base. This was clearly demonstrated throughout the week with 260 members and suppliers in attendance at their annual forum, which was aptly themed ‘Stronger Together’.
“We all understand that getting a promotional program right is a must, but I believe it’s much more than just that. It’s all about engaging. It’s about being part of the membership. It’s about execution and most importantly, it’s about bringing our community together with events, resulting in buy-in to our programs.
“I’d say that this is one of our biggest strengths, our membership is genuinely engaged,” he said.
In tumultuous times for retail liquor, Thirsty Camel Victoria’s results this year have been up two per cent in value, and down five per cent in volume. Alongside financial results, Moelands emphasised the importance of the strong member engagement during this period.
“We’re bringing in the right members. It’s not a numbers game for us, and this year will be no different. We want people that want to be part of the Thirsty Camel community. If you’re a part of the membership, it means you come to the forums, you come to the conferences, you come to the road shows because connection builds consistency,” he said.
Moelands said its members are the foundation of the group, truly setting the stage for future growth.
“If we engage with the members and suppliers to find mutually beneficial outcomes, then we all win. If the members believe in our strategies and are driven to execute them, we will grow,” he said.
Stronger Together
Thirsty Camel Victoria’s commitment to its members was represented by the theme of the 2024 forum, Stronger Together. Moelands explained that the theme reflects the group’s original ethos, as well as point to a path forward.
If we all join forces, we can achieve better results. So, how do we lean on our past experiences to drive us to the future? The answer is, we’re better together and stronger together.
This year’s forum saw 73 per cent attendance across the membership. Moelands explained that events such as last week’s forum allow an opportunity for members to learn lessons through seminars, and most importantly, each other.
“You learn 50 per cent in the classroom, and then the other 50 per cent comes from social settings, like over drinks at a bar after meeting a new member. Whether it’s on a walk, whether it’s on a boat, it doesn’t have to be just presentation after presentation,” he said.
Importantly, Thirsty Camel Victoria also recognises the efforts of its members, such as Adriana Thomas, who won the 2024 Member Appreciation Award at this year’s forum.
“Adriana has had 36 years in the industry, in the same hotel group. She worked in the front bar, before transitioning to liquor and becoming a manager. She became a buyer for the four bottle shops that the group owns, and 36 years later, at 65, she’s still doing it,” Moelands said.
The winners of the Member Milestone Award are presented with Thirsty Camel’s ‘Green Jacket’, a symbol of their expertise. Each year, ‘Green Jacket’ alumni proudly return to Thirsty Camel Victoria events, wearing their jacket with pride.
Consumer benefits
For consumers, Thirsty Camel Victoria offers two key points of difference, through its on-the-go focus and unique Hump Club loyalty program.
Moelands explained that Thirsty Camel Victoria focuses on on-the-go consumers rather than convenience, because what consumers consider convenient can be subjective.
“We want people to think, ‘I’m going somewhere, I’m on the way home, I know that I can get a convenient offer from Thirsty Camel’. If you have a look at our range, from an RTD point of view, we focus on four-packs, six-packs, and 10-packs. If you look at our beer range, we focus on 10-packs and six-packs, versus cases. For the member, there’s more money in selling a 10-pack than there is selling a 24-pack, so our promotional program is really focused around those products, which is a point of difference,” he said.
When it comes to loyalty, Thirsty Camel Victoria has been enhancing its Hump Club program, reaching $2m in loyalty revenue in July, compared to $400,000 18 months ago.
“Loyalty is a big priority for us. It’s a way for us to win in the current market,” Moelands says.
“I think we do loyalty well, and we’re constantly working on new innovations to offer our Hump Club members more value.”
Moelands attributes this increase in loyalty revenue to a renewed focus on its members through the Store of the Year incentive program.
“While we’re always focused on growing Hump Club awareness in the Victoria market, we also understand there’s a big opportunity to incentivise our members to drive the program in their stores. With the Store of the Year program, we can reward members for reaching their Hump Club targets. If they hit their targets, they unlock rewards like free tickets to our annual forum. Instead of just focusing on how we market to consumers, we’re also focused on how we market to our membership,” he said.
Thirsty Camel’s Store of the Year incentive program extends beyond Hump Club metrics.
“If you buy from outside of the group, then you don’t receive points. To win, members would have hit all the criteria for store standards. They would have received 100 per cent compliance in core range, uniform, execution of promotions and more. They would be a part of our e-commerce program, and they would hit their Hump Club loyalty targets,” Moelands said.
For transparency, and to drive a competitive edge, members can see how they compare against other stores with a leaderboard on the member portal, MILIE, which indicates each store’s performance as of the last quarter.
For Moelands, Thirsty Camel both empowers its members to optimise their businesses and creates a supportive community among members and the group.
“If you want to be a part of an engaged, fun community, and you also want to do really good business, then we’re for you.”
If you want to be part of Thirsty Camel Victoria, contact AJT@thirstycamel.com.au for more information.
In Pictures: Thirsty Camel ‘Stronger Together’ Forum:
