Not so h-optimistic.

(From Off Licence News)

Truly, January is the longest month. After the manic burst of trade at the end of the year, the doldrums of January seem more soporific than ever. But what to do? It's not as though we'tre about to indulge in some traditional January sales, it's not really a technique of which I approve. Actually, I do have my eye on a rather nice purple velvet Paul Smith jacket in a store in Leeds, but I digress.aIn an ironic reversal of the January sales, it seems that the price of everything is gently increasing, particularly good beers from smaller breweries. One would have to have been living up a mountain to have escaped the speculation surrounding the economy in general, and inflation in particular. I think that there is a double (or even triple) whammy in play when it comes to beer. The raw ingredients have become much more expensive, and in the case of some hops, simply unavailable. Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery, characterises this not as a shortage, but an outage. The spice of beer is unavailable for any price; it's just been a bad year for hops. Add to this the rise in fuel and utility costs and it's unsurprising that the price of quality bottled beers from smaller producers is steadily rising.aBut as a specialist retailer, how is one to deal with these rises? Should you soak up the price increase whole, or even in part? It's only natural to worry that a small tweak in prices might lead to a large fall in trade. But let's look at the alternatives : if you elect to completely soak up the price change, fearful of being seen as too expensive, then you are doing everyone a disservice by handing out subsidies. ...