Beer Store Monopoly

[Plan B]

Good Article in the Toronto Star regarding the Beer Store monoply in Ontario. I can't believe 6 out of 10 people believed that Beer Stores belonged to the province! I knew it was a monopoly, but I didn't know the owners were Molson and Labatt (WTF)


http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/454836

 

[tboy]

Ah to live in a civilized province like Quebec where you can walk into your neighbourhood convenience store and buy beer....any day of the week.....it was only the threat of doing this that made the beer stores open on sundays.....

I think it's about time this topic was brought up again.....

 

[S.C. Joe]

I can buy beer and wine at my local gas station

But then I don't enjoy drinking the stuff, lol.

 

[Crixus]

Don't like the monopoly? Make your own beer!

No, really - make you own. It's fun, and some of the best beer I've ever had has come from the cellars of some home brew enthusiasts I've known.

 

[Lord_Phan]

I can buy beer and wine at my local gas station

But then I don't enjoy drinking the stuff, lol.

That article is wrong and misleading on so many levels. The beer store is a non-profit distribution network. It saves the brewers money, increases efficiency and allows the craft brewers to have their beer sold anywhere in ontario. The Brewers own the beer and set the prices. If the mom and pop stores sell it in competition with the beer stores, they will have to mark it higher(There is no law that says they can't sell beer btw they just can't compete with the people who make it. Now... if you don't want to be able to buy any beer you want from your local pub in Toronto(or at extremely higher prices per pint) then by all means get rid of the most efficient distribution network in north america.

 

[anon1]

Ah to live in a civilized province like Quebec where you can walk into your neighbourhood convenience store and buy beer

There are several convenience stores that you can buy beer and liquor at in less urban areas of Ontario. They have to be situated in a location not readily served by the monopoly stores. I know of two in my area within 15 minutes drive.

 

[Plan B]

Typical!!

I did some research and its no secret that Labatt (partial owners of Beer Store) made financial contributions to the provincial Liberals during the last election.

The website is not that easy to navigate, but you can see financial contributions made. I'm sure many are made in other names as well.

http://www2.elections.on.ca/rtd/jsp/en/RTDParty.jsp

Why stop the monopoly when you are getting money from the parties that benefit from it?

 

[tboy]

That article is wrong and misleading on so many levels. The beer store is a non-profit distribution network. It saves the brewers money, increases efficiency and allows the craft brewers to have their beer sold anywhere in ontario. The Brewers own the beer and set the prices. If the mom and pop stores sell it in competition with the beer stores, they will have to mark it higher(There is no law that says they can't sell beer btw they just can't compete with the people who make it. Now... if you don't want to be able to buy any beer you want from your local pub in Toronto(or at extremely higher prices per pint) then by all means get rid of the most efficient distribution network in north america.

I'm not saying this is 1000 % true but I believe it IS against the law for corner stores to sell alcoholic beverages......it has nothing to do with price.....hell, we've been begging for this for like 30 yrs and it is never approved.

If anyone thinks for one millisecond that a manufacturer who controls where their high demand product is sold, doesn't artifically inflate their RSP then they should give their head a really good shake.

Put it another way: if shell, esso, petro can and CTC all sold their gas at ONE station, and there were 75% fewer stations, do you think the price of gas would go UP or DOWN?

 

[benn]

I did some research and its no secret that Labatt (partial owners of Beer Store) made financial contributions to the provincial Liberals during the last election.

The website is not that easy to navigate, but you can see financial contributions made. I'm sure many are made in other names as well.

http://www2.elections.on.ca/rtd/jsp/en/RTDParty.jsp

Why stop the monopoly when you are getting money from the parties that benefit from it?

What is your point? If it was the conservative or NDP were in power they would make a contribution regardless.

 

[someone]

I'm not saying this is 1000 % true but I believe it IS against the law for corner stores to sell alcoholic beverages......it has nothing to do with price.....hell, we've been begging for this for like 30 yrs and it is never approved.

If anyone thinks for one millisecond that a manufacturer who controls where their high demand product is sold, doesn't artifically inflate their RSP then they should give their head a really good shake.

Put it another way: if shell, esso, petro can and CTC all sold their gas at ONE station, and there were 75% fewer stations, do you think the price of gas would go UP or DOWN?

I agree with you and will add one addition point. Given that Brewer’s retail is paying high unionized wages and convenience stores likely pay minimum wages, I find Lord_Phan claim that convenience stores would have to charge a higher price very questionable. Moreover, the hardcopy of article supports that with the insert that comparies prices in Ontario and those at a Quebec convenience store.

What is your point? If it was the conservative or NDP were in power they would make a contribution regardless.

If you go back you would likely find they did make contributions to those parties. I think that the point is the same, regardless of the fact that it was likely easier for Plan B to find data on the last election than one further in the past.

 

[21pro]

if you come over to the clubhouse (it opens at 3am), you can buy beer and play monopoly if you like. but, most rather get laid or play a card game...

 

[basketcase]

I guess it's like a monopoly that there is little competition (ignoring that the LCBO also sells beer). I'd call it more of a sales collective (if you don't mind socialist language) and it does benefit the little brewers.

Some local stores have been given permission by the government to sell booze but as was said, only where they can't support a LCBO or Beer Store. I am sure that they also face regulations about pricing.

Political donations? I was sure and also checked that they made a contribution to the conservatives as well (Molsons too). In fact, a large number of major corporations will support (or have their employees support) the big parties.

 

[danmand]

Damn swedes and their alcohol policies.

 

[baddonkey]

That article is wrong and misleading on so many levels. The beer store is a non-profit distribution network. It saves the brewers money, increases efficiency and allows the craft brewers to have their beer sold anywhere in ontario. The Brewers own the beer and set the prices. If the mom and pop stores sell it in competition with the beer stores, they will have to mark it higher(There is no law that says they can't sell beer btw they just can't compete with the people who make it. Now... if you don't want to be able to buy any beer you want from your local pub in Toronto(or at extremely higher prices per pint) then by all means get rid of the most efficient distribution network in north america.

where the heck are you getting your info from?

 

[baddonkey]

where's that? I'm movin'

 

[weekend_guy]

This article and discussion came right on the heels of a trend I've been noticing at my local Beer Store in Burlington. The place is massively under-staffed, which was painfully noticeable on the July long weekend.

The few staff that are working are cranky and the customers, including myself, become agitated when it takes 20 minutes to return two 12 packs of empties - I was the only one returning empties and there was only one of the two checkouts open slowly filtering the steady stream of customers (sans empties).

Anyway, this is the true definition of a monopoly - I am unhappy with the service, but The Beer Store holds me captive.

 

[tboy]

Rub: while I agree with you and bow to your knowledge on a lot of topics, your logic is a little suspect on this one.

If bubba is going to buy beer and crack it open in the car, it doesn't matter one whit where he buys it. If he's going to crack a beer does it make a difference whether he buys it at a brewery owned retail location or a convenience store?

I think if they ever (and I'm not holding my breath) allow beer to be sold in convenience stores they should limit and or control which stores get it. Alcohol should NOT be sold at Gas Stations......

With the high cost of fuel, and the pollution that goes with everyone driving everywhere, we have to find more efficient means of getting our products. It is far more efficient to have 1 truck, deliver to 50 retailers and have people drive or walk 2 blocks than to have 250 people drive 20 or 30 blocks to a centralized location. It would be even more efficient to have home delivery but those services can be a little pricey.

As for Brewer's Retail enabling distribution of small labels, I have NO doubt in my mind that there is something given back to BR, or monies paid, or restrictions put on volume because what company in their right mind would allow their competitors to waltz in and take market share? I worked for someone whose wife worked for Molsons and I forget the exact numbers but the reason there is so much beer advertising is because in Canada, a 1% loss of market share equates to something like $5M in lost sales (or some other really high number).

I think that if beer could be sold in convenience stores any Micro Brewery would have easier access to sell their product by simply going into an area that they think they could sell their product and dealing directly with the retailers.

To cite the US as an example of pricing. It's been a while since I bought beer in the US but last time I was there, beer was cheaper than coke or pepsi for a 2-4. Sorry, even with our sin taxes added on having a wider distribution would NOT increase the prices. Think of the gas stations: the ONLY way they make money is not on selling gas, it's all the other things they sell. Convenience stores would work the same way: sell beer at a small mark up and make a killing on pretzels, peanuts and chips.

Sorry, to argue that it isn't a good thing just doesn't fly in the face of overwelming proof that it works fine in just about every other province in Canada.

By the way, there were those that said Sunday shopping would be the downfall of society too...........

 

[landscaper]

The beer stoer is a monopoply owned by Labatts, Molsons and Sleemans( 3%) . It is enshrined by law in Ontario as the only legal outlet for beer, with the exception of Brewers outlet stores at breweries. The topic of beer sales in convienience stores comes up at every election and goes down in flames in every election. The reasoning is that the beer stores can control the sale of beer to minors and drucnks better than a convienience store. There is some validity to that.

The monopoly has some very large problems from what they charge smaller breweries to stock their product to the type of bottles the stuff is sold in to the variety sold.

What would be better? Don't know but the current system does work especially since they were forced to open sundays.

 

[someone]

Rub: while I agree with you and bow to your knowledge on a lot of topics, your logic is a little suspect on this one.

If bubba is going to buy beer and crack it open in the car, it doesn't matter one whit where he buys it. If he's going to crack a beer does it make a difference whether he buys it at a brewery owned retail location or a convenience store?
...
With the high cost of fuel, and the pollution that goes with everyone driving everywhere, we have to find more efficient means of getting our products. It is far more efficient to have 1 truck, deliver to 50 retailers and have people drive or walk 2 blocks than to have 250 people drive 20 or 30 blocks to a centralized location. It would be even more efficient to have home delivery but those services can be a little pricey.

This is very true. When I lived in St. John's, I had three stores I could buy beer from that were less than a 5 minute walk from my home. Besides saving on gas, it meant that there was absolutely no excuse ever to have to drive to a beer store, whether drunk or completely sober.

 

[STASH]

Just to add some info to this subject.
Those non brewers retails stores that sell in the rural areas or where the regular brewers retail is not nearby are limited to only making 10% on beer, liqour or wine.
That IS NOT enough profit to run a store or business. Once again the big boys live off the backs of small store owners. Just like any other government service they offer....barely worth it