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Texas Alcohol Index - November 2009

Published: 29 January 2010

Austin, TX: Virtue Group, a restaurant research company, announced today the release of the November TAI, the Texas Alcohol Index. The index is an aid to track the vitality and performance of the on-premise alcoholic beverage market in Texas. The index is released monthly, trailing two months. The TAI is intended to aid in assessing the vitality of the on-premise alcohol market in Texas and the entire full-service restaurant market as a whole.

Virtue Group Texas Alcohol Index: TAI

TAI November 2009: 167.01

TAI November 2008: 177.49

Percentage change from November 08: -5.91%
Inflation Rate for November 2008 - November 2009*: 1.84%

* Estimated inflation based on the change in the CPI-U for the period.

What is the TAI?

Monthly economic indicator for on-premise mixed beverage sales in the state of Texas. Monitors monthly gross alcohol sales relative to a base period: January 2000. Tracks growth or decline in the mixed beverage market sales from previous months and from the same month last year.

Summary

November sales were very poor this year. The month was both the lowest grossing and poorest performing month of the year, with sales down almost 6% during a month where consumer prices soften and the general economy felt in gear for a recovery. The comparison appears particularly negative as November last year was the highest grossing November on record. The effect of Hurricane Ike in 2008 during this period is partially attributable to this trend; the greater Houston area saw a 10% decline verse last year, whereas the greater Dallas area saw only a 2.5% decline. However, sales were poor in many other minor markets throughout the state.

The worrying trend in November, is that it is the second month in decline with overall alcohol sales less than last year but the number of units selling alcohol at its record highest. This November there were approximately 200 more units reporting than the same month last year.