It's very likely that most of the additional SKU's are on sale in Calgary and Edmonton, but the stores in smaller and rural communities just sell whatever there's a market for locally. I'm sensitive to this issue, because I spend half of each month in a small Newfoundland community, and half in downtown Toronto. The NF liquor store carries a much wider selection of products - mainly wine, to be honest - than is justified by the local market.esprit wrote:Although the average Alberta liquor store today has a piss-poor selection of all products, the fact is that in Alberta there are currently over 10,000 different SKU's available. ... What happened in Alberta is that selection was dumbed down in your average store because the private operator could not afford to carry slow moving, esoteric products. What did develop are specialty stores for wines and spirits and, to some degree, beer.
I think privatization might be good for beer fans in Toronto, but good luck finding a bottle of Anchor Liberty in Mattice without the LCBO. Some mix of private and public would probably be the optimal arrangement for all Ontarians.