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LIQUOR NEWS
NATIONAL
Steves Liquor. The dynasty continues A late-night phone call from Glen Skelton to Tony Leon some nine years ago brought together two icons of the independent liquor industry which saw the beginning of the Steves Liquor Retail group.
Glen Skelton started a Liquor Wholesalers in the eighties, servicing liquor retailers in Tasmania. Over time, the business grew substantially and expanded into the Victorian market, operating from their 8000 sqm warehouse in Cheltenham. Tony Leon, who arrived in Melbourne from war-torn Lebanon in 1979, was primarily responsible for the national success story of Dan Murphy’s. Tony started working at their Prahran store in the mid-1980s at Dan Murphy’s. He oversaw the expansion of the business to five Dan Murphy stores before selling the independent business in 1998 to Woolworths as a result of the then Victorian Labor Premier Steve Bracks deregulating the packaged liquor market by removing the 8% limit on liquor licences. The limit was to restrict a person or a corporation from holding more than 8% of the total number of packaged liquor licences. Their sons, Steve Skelton and Simon Leon, along with Shane Vella (who has mga.asn.au | Aug 2022 | Edition 4
many years of liquor experience in the supply and retail channels), have taken up the reins. This new management team established five stores in Victoria, three stores in Queensland and three stores in Tasmania.
MGA caught up with them at their new refurbished St Kilda Store. Tell us about yourselves and what is your vision for Steves Liquor? Steve Skelton – I started in the industry by picking boxes and keeping the warehouse nice and tidy for my dad (Glen Skelton) at the wholesale business, then on turning 18, I managed the retail stores. Simon Leon – As long as I can remember, I’ve grown up in bottle shops. As a five and six-year-old, I’d run around the Dan Murphy’s Alphington store all night while the old man (Tony Leon) completed stock takes. Christmas and school holidays were spent carrying boxes to the car for customers and collecting trolleys in the
car park. When the opportunity arose to join Dad at Steve’s Liquor in 2013, I could not say yes quick enough. Shane Vella –I had done the full circle, initially starting by working in a drivethrough bottleshop when I was 18 at The Royal Oak Hotel Cheltenham, courtesy of my late friend and next-door neighbour, Tony Glynn. Then I moved into liquor wholesale and went to work at Bacardi Lion as a supplier, and finally back to retail. We have eleven stores across three states in all different shapes and sizes. We plan to continue to build on these and strive to establish Steves Liquor as a leading independent retailer by offering consumers a rewarding retailing experience. How do you see the independent liquor retail sector, its strengths and weaknesses, and how do you see it evolving into the future? The independent sector has always supported its local community, offering personalised service, product knowledge
