Sainsbury's backdown tells a story.

(From Off Licence News)

Interesting to see Sainsbury's withdrawing its multi buy promotion on Basics cider - AGBP3.60 for eight litres (26p a pint) - shortly after the deal became the focus of a negatively-slanted piece in the Mail on Sunday. It's the first time during my three years at OLN that negative media coverage has apparently forced a retailer to change its approach. The cider is pretty cheap anyway , normally retailing at the equivalent of 34p a pint , and is hardly typical of Sainsbury's BWS range. But the unfortunate effect of press coverage like this is to give the impression that the off-trade is virtually giving away booze. Most readers of The Mail on Sunday know no different as they're probably not aware of all the responsible drinking initiatives in place. National media hacks are clearly on the prowl for more of this type of story, and retailers will have to think harder about how their offers might be perceived. Government own-goal Research commissioned by the WSTA into the likely side effects of a duty rise is food for thought. It's the first cohesive bit of research I've seen which shows that raising alcohol tax ...