ILG CONFERENCE The ILG Group at Singapore Zoo
MAKING MEMORIES
WITH ILG
Amanda Jobson and Maria Limsico
THE INDEPENDENT LIQUOR GROUP MADE ITS WAY TO ASIA LAST MONTH TO CELEBRATE THE BUSINESS’ SUCCESSES WHILE CREATING SOME LASTING MEMORIES, AND DEB JACKSON WAS IN ATTENDANCE.
“W
e’re ahead of the game” was the key message from Independent Liquor Group (ILG) CEO Paul Esposito as he opened business sessions at the 2018 ILG conference in Singapore and Bangkok. Around 100 ILG members along with their families and key suppliers took to the skies for the Asian adventure of a lifetime. It was an opportunity to not only hear about the strengths and future direction of the ILG business, but to engage and spend time with like-minded business owners and fellow ILG members, who by the end of the week were more like family than friends. And that really is what the ILG business is all about and is very much the direction that Esposito has been steering the business since he stepped into the CEO role back in April, 2017. It has been all about getting ILG back to its grass roots and family-orientated cooperative core. The ‘A Taste of Asia’ conference, co-ordinated by the amazing Maria Limsico and Amanda Jobson from ILG, was filled with money-can’t-buy experiences including a police escorted took took ride around the streets of Bangkok – and if you’ve ever experienced the traffic in Bangkok you’ll understand just how valuable that police escort really was.
Mark and Sheila Jarvis
o, ul Colosim d John-Pa ul Esposito n a io rg e ee, S d Pa Bob McGh Sandy McGhee an Damien Bottero and Nathan Fitzsimons accidentally twinning
THE FUTURE OF ILG This was just the second international conference that Esposito has presided over and in his opening address he was able to share with delegates that ILG is experiencing growth in every category of its business, with an improvement in net assets sitting at $18.7m that puts ILG in a strong position for future growth. “Every category of our business has good growth. There are some areas that still need improvement but we’re ahead of the game. We all know that in business cash flow can be an issue, however ILG is in a positive cash flow position, giving us the flexibility to be able to do some exciting things.” This time last year ILG reported net assets of $16.8m and this year that balance has risen to $18.7m. Esposito talked delegates through ILG’s performance, with sales revenue in growth of 13 per cent versus last year. He also said that the Townsville warehouse is now fully-owned by the cooperative. Excess Kylie Farquhar, Tony Snell and Sara Hesse
26 | OCTOBER 2018 NATIONAL LIQUOR NEWS
