Woolworths Group will expand its Endeavour Drinks ventures in the lead up to its slated demerger, acquiring a “majority interest” in B2B drink specialist Shorty’s Liquor.
Servicing corporate customers and on-premise venues in Sydney, Shorty’s Liquor was established in 2001 and has since grown to offer online ordering and delivery to corporate offices across the city.
It will join Endeavour Drinks, which is set to merge with Woolworths' ALH Group in February.
Shorty’s Liquor founder David Short will continue to lead the business and support growth plans into Melbourne, Brisbane and other capital cities over the coming years.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Endeavour Drinks to help fuel our next wave of growth,” said Short.
“We’ll benefit greatly from tapping into Endeavour’s national supply chain, while also retaining our agility as a distinct business within the group.”
Endeavour Drinks managing director Steve Donohue said Shorty’s had developed an exciting proposition over the years and was pleased to be partnering with the team to build a presence in the business to business segment
“Developing new growth avenues is a key priority for Endeavour Drinks as we work to connect everyone with a drinks experience they’ll love.
“We have a proud track record partnering with innovative players in drinks having successfully integrated the likes of Dan Murphy’s, Cellarmasters and Jimmy Brings into our portfolio.
“We look forward to partnering with David and his team to offer even better value and more convenience to more corporate customers across Australia.”
Woolworths announced plans to combine its drinks and hospitality ventures, Endeavour Drinks and ALH Group, in July 2019, with the restructure approved in December by shareholders. It will be known as Endeavour Group.
Woolworths further intends to separate Endeavour Group from its business following the restructure and ALH merger in February, which it says will be “by way of demerger or other value accretive alternative”.
