Lion New Zealand has announced it plans to sell its Lion Liquor Retail (LLR) business operating under the Liquor King banner.

The sale process is expected to take a number of months. During the sale process, stores will continue to trade as usual, but the lk.co.nz website will cease trading from 31 August 2021.  

Lion NZ Country Director Craig Baldie said: “In the more than 25 years LLR has been part of the Lion NZ business, the retail landscape has changed significantly. While our strategy has also evolved over time, we see our advantage in our core domain of manufacturing, distributing and marketing of adult beverages, rather than in retailing.

“Lion NZ has also become an increasingly complex business in a very competitive market and we believe a simplified focus will create space for us to unlock future growth in our core business.

“We have a hardworking and talented LLR team. We have not made this decision lightly and appreciate this creates uncertainty for those involved.”

LLR has 22 stores in its network, following the settlement of three stores which were recently on the market, and Baldie says they see this as a positive sign for Lion Liquor Retail’s future under new ownership.

“LLR has been performing well and we believe there will be strong interest in the business based on the current retail market environment.”