LiquorLand

LiquorLand was established in 1981 as a franchise of independently owned liquor stores.[2] By 2002, under the ownership of DB Breweries, it had 72 stores.[4] By 2005, it had 80 stores.[5]

Foodstuffs purchased the franchise in 2009 for an undisclosed sum.[6] Woolworths Group had also attempted to purchase the chain.[7]

Birds Liquorsave was established in Hamilton in 1991. It had seven stores in Hamilton, Rotorua, Thames and Tauranga by 2005.[8]

The Mill took over Birds Liquorsave in 2005, rebranding the stores as The Mill Liquorsave.[8][9] The stores were converted into LiquorLand stores, after Foodstuffs purchased The Mill in 2015.[10]

The Mill was established in New Plymouth in 1993.[11] It had 24 stores in 2004,[10] and had 31 stores by 2005.[8] It took over Birds Liquorsave in October 2005, rebranding the stores as The Mill Liquorsave.[8] It also introduced no-frills stores in March 2006.[9]

Independent Brewers, a Papakura-based alcohol company owned by Asahi Breweries,[12] purchased The Mill franchise in May 2013.[11] The franchise reached 35 stores; most were located in the North Island but none were located in Auckland.[13]

Independent Brewers sold The Mill to Foodstuffs for an undisclosed sum in October 2015,[14] The stores were converted into LiquorLand stores.[10] None of the stores were located in Auckland.

Foodstuffs established the Duffy & Finn's alcohol chain in 2006. The first outlet, a small liquor store, opened in Porirua in August. The second outlet, a $1 million 800m² large-format store, opened in Pukoohe in November.[15][16]

The chain was based on Australian liquor chain Dan Murphy's. At the time, Woolworths Group had been understood to be planning to expand the chain to New Zealand.[17]

The Duffy and Finn's store was phased out following Foodstuffs' purchase of LiquorLand in 2009.[6] The two stores were continuing to operate in 2011.[18][19] The brand was removed from the Foodstuffs website in the last three months of that year.[19][20]

The first Henry's store was opened in Queenstown in October 2006.[17]

Foodstuffs purchased nine Imperial Discount Liquor stores in Kaikoura, Rangiora and Christchurch, rebranding them as Henry's from June 2007.[17] The Imperial Discount Liquor franchise had been operating since 2004.[21]

Foodstuffs planned to open a store in the Christchurch suburb of St Martins in May 2013, but withdrew the plan after opposition from the local school.[22][23]

Foodstuffs faced opposition when opening new Henry's stores in Cromwell and Timaru in 2016.[24][25]

Two Henry's stores in Christchurch were ram-raided in 2017, as part of a spate of ram-raid burglaries in the city.[26][27]

Foodstuffs was unable to open a new Henry's store in Phillipstown, Christchurch in May 2019 due to community opposition.[28]

In October 2019, a robber with a knife fled a Christchurch Henry's store after the worker shouted at him to "f*** off".[29]

The Henry's store in Richmond was violently robbed in January 2020. The perpetrator pretended to have a gun to steal money for gambling, leaving staff traumatised.[30]

During the initial COVID-19 lockdown in March and April 2020, Foodstuffs was required to close its liquor stores and shift to online sales.[31] When the stores were allowed to reopen, they began surveying customers on how the stores and website could be improved.[32]

In 2021, Foodstuffs reached an agreement with The Trusts, to allow some of its WestLiquor stores in West Auckland to be re-branded as LiquorLand.[33] Under the agreement, Foodstuffs can make recommendations on pricing.[34]