Alcohol sales mean big revenues for Lund’s nations. A decreasing turn over leads to consequences for the economy of the whole nation.
Göteborg, Malmö, Östgöta, Lund and Wermland all had decreasing turn overs regarding alcohol last year, while the remaining eight nations had an increase. However, alcohol means large sums of money for all of them.
Looking at the last three years, Lund nation is the one that has suffered the biggest decrease in absolute numbers. Between 2012 and 2014 the alcohol revenues decreased by almost 2 million kronor.
“People don’t come to our clubs as much as they did before and they don’t drink as much when they do”, says Viktor Sköld, pro curator of economy at Lund nation.
Why this is, he can only speculate. One reason, Viktor Sköld believes, is that students now are more aware of their health.
“People don’t seem to enjoy partying as much now, but sittningar and balls are very popular.”
Lund nation is looking for a solution
But alcohol is an important source of revenue for the nation. The decreasing revenues has led to Lund nation having to cut down on Torsdagsklubben to every other Thursday.
“We’re scraping by. So far we’re making a profit but I think we need to rethink and evaluate how to increase our revenue in the future”, says Viktor Sköld.
Any concrete plans on how to increase revenues do not exist at the moment, but the nation has started renting out their spaces more and more.
“There is a very high demand on renting our spaces”, says Viktor Sköld.
Wermland nation is collapsing
The sales numbers for Wermland nation have pointed downwards for several years. Since 2010 the turn around on alcohol has decreased by 73 percent. The curator at Wermland nation, Sebastian Andersson, agrees with Viktor Sköld about students having healthier alcohol habits now.
“I’ve been a student since 2008 and I think people drink less now and have healthier alcohol habits”, he says.
The main reason, however, is that less people visit the nation now, something that is also visible in the sales numbers.
“The number of visitors is generally a big problem for us”, says Sebastian Andersson.
How important are alcohol sales in order for the nations to make a profit?
“They obviously play an important role, but they are far from the only thing that matters.”
The member fees are also important, says Sebastian Andersson.
“The nation survives in other ways too, thankfully. You don’t want the nation to be completely dependent on alcohol sales.”
But Sebastian Andersson does not think that the solution to the nations crumbling numbers is clubs with high alcohol sales, but rather to increase the number of members.
“It’s easy to do something that works really well for a short time, but if you want something that works in the long run I think it takes reflection and that’s something you work with continuously. Regarding the number of members at Wermland nation, we see a slow but steady increase.”
Eurovision is good for the economy
Helsingkrona nation is part of the group of nations where the revenues from alcohol sales have increased. Between 2013 and 2014 the nation’s alcohol sales increased more than any other nation in Lund.
“A lot is of course thanks to our night clubs and we think that people are starting to enjoy Eurovision again because our Eurovision-club is very popular”, says Niklas Lundberg, curator at Helsingkrona nation.
The increase in alcohol sales can also be seen as an indication that things are going well for the nation right now.
“You can’t hide that the nations’ largest revenues come from the night clubs. We’re dependant on alcohol sales, but at the same time the most important thing is that people come here and have a good time, rather than that we sell a lot of alcohol. “
What have you done with the increase in revenue?
“Since we are celebrating 125 years this year, the plan is to spruce everything up a bit and we have increased several budget posts.”
Niklas Lundberg’s advice to nations with a decreasing number of visitors is to try and find their own niche.
“Find something unique, people get tired of mainstream in the long run.”
- READ MORE: Alcohol – The Cash Cow
Text: Annika Skogar
Translation: Emily Eriksson
