Advisory Panel Recommends Changes to Ontario’s Liquor Retail

[ercousin]

http://www.canadianbeernews.com/2014/11 ... ng-system/

Sounds like this report was written by a craft beer fan!

- Converting some LCBO locations to specialty shops which emphasize craft beer or craft distillery products.
- Establishing an online ordering system that would allow any alcohol producer or supplier in the world – including breweries – to offer products that can be ordered for pick-up at any LCBO location.
- Allowing a number of private craft beer specialty stores to open, featuring beer from Ontario and around the world.
- Increasing the Cost of Service charges levied against The Beer Store, while also legislating that the owners of the chain – Molson, Labatt and Sleeman – cannot increase the prices changed to consumers in order to offset the higher fees.
- Adding 12-packs to the beer selection at the LCBO, which is currently limited to selling 6-packs or smaller formats due to an agreement with The Beer Store.
- Mandating greater corporate transparency for The Beer Store, and ensuring that non-owner breweries are given equal display of their products in the retail stores.

[Kel Varnsen]

- Adding 12-packs to the beer selection at the LCBO, which is currently limited to selling 6-packs or smaller formats due to an agreement with The Beer Store.

I read this story earlier today. Makes me wonder, if they start adding 12 packs and other formats of the products that sell in high volume, and there is already a limited amount of space on LCBO shelves won't they have to push other products out to make room. I mean brewers in Ontario are already complaining about how there is not enough shelf space at the LCBO now.

[ercousin]

- Adding 12-packs to the beer selection at the LCBO, which is currently limited to selling 6-packs or smaller formats due to an agreement with The Beer Store.

I read this story earlier today. Makes me wonder, if they start adding 12 packs and other formats of the products that sell in high volume, and there is already a limited amount of space on LCBO shelves won't they have to push other products out to make room. I mean brewers in Ontario are already complaining about how there is not enough shelf space at the LCBO now.

I imagine the "specialty" and private stores would focus on craft, and not 12 packs. I doubt many of us would visit the regular LCBOs anymore if there were specialty and private bottle shops.

[rejtable]

The specialty store certainly seems the easiest route to progress on the surface, but man, can a beast as big and clumsy as the LCBO also manage small and nimble like those kinds of stores would require?

[Craig]

The specialty store certainly seems the easiest route to progress on the surface, but man, can a beast as big and clumsy as the LCBO also manage small and nimble like those kinds of stores would require?

They also proposed private craft stores, which if created would probably win out against the LCBO craft stores.

I like the idea of the online foreign importing. It's so simple and would deliver so much more variety than we have right now. The trick would be the lab testing, of course.

[Masterplan]

The specialty store certainly seems the easiest route to progress on the surface, but man, can a beast as big and clumsy as the LCBO also manage small and nimble like those kinds of stores would require?

They also proposed private craft stores, which if created would probably win out against the LCBO craft stores.

I like the idea of the online foreign importing. It's so simple and would deliver so much more variety than we have right now. The trick would be the lab testing, of course.

On private orders they should just give you a waiver form to sign and forget the lab testing.

[ercousin]

The specialty store certainly seems the easiest route to progress on the surface, but man, can a beast as big and clumsy as the LCBO also manage small and nimble like those kinds of stores would require?

They also proposed private craft stores, which if created would probably win out against the LCBO craft stores.

I like the idea of the online foreign importing. It's so simple and would deliver so much more variety than we have right now. The trick would be the lab testing, of course.

On private orders they should just give you a waiver form to sign and forget the lab testing.

"I hereby wave my right to lab testing and accept that Cantillon may be trying to kill me with their infected arsenic beer."

Seriously the level of testing is ridiculous. If you are that concerned about heavy metals in beer and wine just test a random bottled from the brewery. If there's no metals then its good to go. Their water source isn't going to go from fine to poisonous between batches. Stop testing every batch please, I accepted the risk when I left my plastic bubble. Does the CFIA test every batch of milk or juice boxes in case they are full of arsenic and the whatever?

[rejtable]

The specialty store certainly seems the easiest route to progress on the surface, but man, can a beast as big and clumsy as the LCBO also manage small and nimble like those kinds of stores would require?

They also proposed private craft stores, which if created would probably win out against the LCBO craft stores.

Oh for sure, private stores would be the ultimate, but that's miles ahead of my low expectations for what will actually happen anytime soon.

I can see the LCBO testing some boutique specialty stores in reasonably short order. I just wonder how good they'll be at it.

If the LCBO really wanted to, they could have small boutique stores up and running pretty quickly. They have beer. They have staff. Design and real estate would have to get sorted out, but a small pilot of a few stores... I bet they could have that up and running in a small handful of months if they really wanted to.

For sure private stores would be awesome, but nothing in the rhetoric or current political climate leads me to think we'll see it in the short or medium future.

[atomeyes]

well-paid and well-educated thinktanks: changes need to be made! if you do, you'll make more money!

Liberal government: naa naa naaa we cannot hear you naa naa naa naaaa

[Belgian]

Hmmm guys I dunno. The apathy and inertia seems to run pretty deep.

I can't see any reason why they would want to spotlight their own inadequacies by offering a truly superior alternative for any discriminating buyer of beer and spirits. I believe the matter has more to do with optics and power politics than things like a) efficiency and quality of service for us or b) thinking like a business to make a little more money for the province.

No competition, no motivation right?

[MatttthewGeorge]

- Converting some LCBO locations to specialty shops which emphasize craft beer or craft distillery products.

This will mean, in conjunction with my next point, that small towns will get far less craft. Bad for the breweries that currently invest in making it out to these towns, and very bad for the craft fans in these towns.

- Adding 12-packs to the beer selection at the LCBO, which is currently limited to selling 6-packs or smaller formats due to an agreement with The Beer Store.

As someone who's job is to sell craft at the LCBO I can tell you first hand that this will hurt craft, a lot. I'm already competing against 4 different pack sizes of Bud, adding another will be at the expense of a craft SKU.

Getting rid of SKU counts would see the biggest expansion of craft, yet I don't see that suggested. I invite anyone to spend the day with me and count how many times we hear "I'm over SKU'ed" or "I'm can only bring that in if you delist something else" or etc. etc.

[Roland + Russell]

- Converting some LCBO locations to specialty shops which emphasize craft beer or craft distillery products.

This will mean, in conjunction with my next point, that small towns will get far less craft. Bad for the breweries that currently invest in making it out to these towns, and very bad for the craft fans in these towns.

- Adding 12-packs to the beer selection at the LCBO, which is currently limited to selling 6-packs or smaller formats due to an agreement with The Beer Store.

As someone who's job is to sell craft at the LCBO I can tell you first hand that this will hurt craft, a lot. I'm already competing against 4 different pack sizes of Bud, adding another will be at the expense of a craft SKU.

Getting rid of SKU counts would see the biggest expansion of craft, yet I don't see that suggested. I invite anyone to spend the day with me and count how many times we hear "I'm over SKU'ed" or "I'm can only bring that in if you delist something else" or etc. etc.

Absolutely. The "over SKU'ed" argument is by far the biggest challenge we see in our daily business, even when we encourage the store manager to re-order a product with an exceptional performance at their store or to list a new product with a splendid reputation and backed by strong customer demand.

[Belgian]

So why this limit? Are SKU 'limits' based on an antiquated model from a time when they actually served the number of products that could be sourced, or could serve the buying market well? What's their purpose?

^ I can't foresee the total number of craft beers getting any fewer; in North America the number has exploded in the last ten years. I'd expect this means more hot-selling products than ever serving an expanded market with a steadily improved selection - not 'the same old.'

Moreover the stores barely look full enough to prevent adding new beer types or eliminate existing types. The space utilization might look questionable in some stores, if 'no physical room for more SKU's' is an excuse for enforcing SKU limits.

So if there's physical room to add products and keep others, then what is the real barrier presented in the excuse of a store being 'over SKU'd'? How on earth does it matter if they add a handful of SKUs each year to reflect a growing market niche?

[darmokandjalad]

Moreover the stores barely look full enough to prevent adding new beer types or eliminate existing types. The space utilization might look questionable in some stores, if 'no physical room for more SKU's' is an excuse for enforcing SKU limits.

This is a huge annoyance for me. A brand-new, very large LCBO was built here a few years ago - and while the craft beer selection has certainly increased exponentially compared to say, 2011, they are still terrible at utilizing the amount of space they have access to. Basically, they just cut the plastic wrap off the top of the beer flat and then shove it onto the shelf. I can go across the border to a store in Port Huron that has a tiny fraction (maybe like 10%) of its space allotted for beer compared to this LCBO, but they manage to squeeze in probably 2-3x as many SKUs.

I mean, they could probably just rotate the flats so that the width-side faces out instead of the length side, and boom - suddenly there's ~20% more space for more SKUs. No one needs three flats of DAB Original sitting side-by-side next to each other (yes this is a real thing that I see all the time). That is well beyond asinine. It's stumbling into 'effing retarded' territory. Bring a different SKU in and leave the other two flats in the stock room until they are needed.

The last thing the LCBO needs is 12-packs of anything, at least until they learn to how to effectively utilize their space.

[BakaGaijin]

- Converting some LCBO locations to specialty shops which emphasize craft beer or craft distillery products.

This will mean, in conjunction with my next point, that small towns will get far less craft. Bad for the breweries that currently invest in making it out to these towns, and very bad for the craft fans in these towns.

- Adding 12-packs to the beer selection at the LCBO, which is currently limited to selling 6-packs or smaller formats due to an agreement with The Beer Store.

As someone who's job is to sell craft at the LCBO I can tell you first hand that this will hurt craft, a lot. I'm already competing against 4 different pack sizes of Bud, adding another will be at the expense of a craft SKU.

Getting rid of SKU counts would see the biggest expansion of craft, yet I don't see that suggested. I invite anyone to spend the day with me and count how many times we hear "I'm over SKU'ed" or "I'm can only bring that in if you delist something else" or etc. etc.

Absolutely. The "over SKU'ed" argument is by far the biggest challenge we see in our daily business, even when we encourage the store manager to re-order a product with an exceptional performance at their store or to list a new product with a splendid reputation and backed by strong customer demand.

This why some stores should be converted to beer only. Get rid of wine and spirits in some of those big box stores and they can list 10 times more beer products.