Secret agreement between LCBO & Beer Store - Star exclus

[atomeyes]

read it and (literally) weep, boys and girls.

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/ ... witterfeed

[Uncle Bobby]

Delicious reading....!

And frankly none of the details are a surprise to anyone who has dealt with either institution, either as a consumer or a supplier. The existence of the agreement itself, and its formerly secret nature, are also no surprise.

Is it a surprise that a government institution entered into an agreement to suppress competition? A little, but no worse than the oligopoly of banks, gas retailers and food retailers who function like a closed club in our country.

I am sorry. After not having posted here for ages, I am going to over-reach myself with overarching statements.

The only surprise is that they were stupid and hubristic enough to write this down. And that the document came to light at all.

[instantkamera]

read it and (literally) weep, boys and girls.

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/ ... witterfeed

TL;DR: LCBO tries not sell 12-24 packs of beer.

That's not exactly news to any of us, nor would I argue that we want that reversed. If all else remains equal, that's just more SKUs/shelf space eaten up by the big guys anyway.

IF we have to live with a quasi-monopoly, I'd rather the beer store serve the masses their garbage (largely products from TBS owners anyway) and the LCBO function as a bottle shop of imported and OCB beer (which is sorta the way it ends up working anyway).

I don't know though, maybe these revelations are well-suited to getting Joe 12/24-Pack on-board with changes the rest of us want (albeit for different reasons), and that I can get behind.

[Bytowner]

TL;DR:

As a general rule, this should never be followed up by anything else in a comment.

[Cass]

Don't really think this is a "Star exclusive" as referenced in the title. The 'whistleblower' sent the document to me as well. Great read though. And more to come!

[instantkamera]

TL;DR:

As a general rule, this should never be followed up by anything else in a comment.

Im sorry that you unfamiliar with the common usage of 'tl;dr', allow me to enlighten you (or "LMGTFY", as it were):

TL;DR
TL;DR, an acronym for "Too long; didn't read", is Internet slang used in reply to a lengthy online message. It is also used at the beginning of a summary of such a message.

[northyorksammy]

Restrain competition is against Federal law. We should petition Ottawa to break both institutions up as consumers are not being properly served.

[Kel Varnsen]

That's not exactly news to any of us, nor would I argue that we want that reversed. If all else remains equal, that's just more SKUs/shelf space eaten up by the big guys anyway.

It depends I suppose. Yes there could be less shelf space. On the other hand the beer store will give a reduced price if you buy 4 sixpacks of something that doesn't come in a 24. If the LCBO started doing that it could increase their beer sales.

Plus anything that puts the squeeze on the beer store and reduces the profits of the owners is a good thing. I know they talk about how TBS makes no profits, but as their sales drop it becomes less and less worth it for the owners to even bother with it. At some point there has to be a tipping point where it would just be easier for them to sell their beer in grocery stores.

[Masterplan]

Sounds like Molson and labatt threatened layoffs/plant closers/etc. and got the province to bend...

This is hardly news.

[instantkamera]

Restrain competition is against Federal law. We should petition Ottawa to break both institutions up as consumers are not being properly served.

This is really the desired outcome. Anything short of that is risking switching the devil we know with the one we don't.

[Cass]

That's not exactly news to any of us, nor would I argue that we want that reversed. If all else remains equal, that's just more SKUs/shelf space eaten up by the big guys anyway.

It depends I suppose. Yes there could be less shelf space. On the other hand the beer store will give a reduced price if you buy 4 sixpacks of something that doesn't come in a 24. If the LCBO started doing that it could increase their beer sales.

Plus anything that puts the squeeze on the beer store and reduces the profits of the owners is a good thing. I know they talk about how TBS makes no profits, but as their sales drop it becomes less and less worth it for the owners to even bother with it. At some point there has to be a tipping point where it would just be easier for them to sell their beer in grocery stores.

The no profit thing is a joke IMO. In the Beer Store's annual report it says the following:

Service charges revenue is primarily earned based on the volume of products distributed at rates determined annually. The difference, if any, between service charges revenue and costs and expenses incurred is allocated among the owner-breweries in accordance with the terms of the shareholders’ agreement and recorded as an adjustment to service charges revenue.

Certainly seems like 'profit' goes back to the owners as a reduction in overall revenue to TBS. So it always looks like revenue will equal costs in the books, but the owners get a payout.

[Craig]

The no profit thing is a joke IMO. In the Beer Store's annual report it says the following:

Service charges revenue is primarily earned based on the volume of products distributed at rates determined annually. The difference, if any, between service charges revenue and costs and expenses incurred is allocated among the owner-breweries in accordance with the terms of the shareholders’ agreement and recorded as an adjustment to service charges revenue.

Certainly seems like 'profit' goes back to the owners as a reduction in overall revenue to TBS. So it always looks like revenue will equal costs in the books, but the owners get a payout.

Even if there is technically no profit, the real plum here is the maintenance of the beer monopoly. They sell their beer to TBS at a profit, who then turn around and sell it to us as cheaply as they can. MolBatt is still making their money.

[FEUO]

2015 New Years Resolution: DO NOT BUY ANY BEER FROM LCBO OR TBS.

How many folks can make it happen?
I think I am going to give it a go.

Everything I want or need I can buy from the brewery or the US.

[nickw]

Popping down to the States every few weeks sounds great in principle, but it's ultimately a protest reserved for a privileged few who a) happen to live close to a brewery they can easily access; b) have access to transportation and those associated travel costs; c) and can afford to put down a significant amount of money up front for more beer on fewer trips.

[ercousin]

2015 New Years Resolution: DO NOT BUY ANY BEER FROM LCBO OR TBS.

How many folks can make it happen?
I think I am going to give it a go.

Everything I want or need I can buy from the brewery or the US.

Or start brewing your own!

Another thing, why are corporations and unions allowed to donate to political parties at the provincial level? This was outlawed years ago at the Federal level...