News   Nov 22, 2024
National Housing Day: City of Toronto and Riverdale Co-op Open Affordable Homes
 752     1 
News   Nov 22, 2024
Bauhaus Condos Rising in Toronto's Old Town
 1.3K     5 
News   Nov 22, 2024
49-Storey Waterfront Tower Proposed at Spadina and Queens Quay
 3.4K     8 

LCBO / The Beer Store

Should the LCBO be deregulated?

  • Total voters
    169
  • Poll closed .
gabe said:
I used to buy craft beer from Vancouver in Buffalo NY, but i can't get the beer anywhere in the province of Ontario. Absolutely ridiculous how the LCBO/beer store screws us over. Time to end these monopolies.
Click to expand...

Whatever the law might be, I’m observing wineries don’t really care and don’t obey it. I ordered several times from wineries outside of Ontario. Shipment was received within a couple of days. My favourite is Tidal Bay from Nova Scotia. https://grandprewines.com/collections/our-wines

I asked at the new LCBO at Lakeshore why they don’t sell wine from Nova Scotia. The guy said people in that province drinking their own wine. Nothing left to be shipped to Ontario. He said that in all seriousness!
 
Last edited:
Andy_in_Toronto said:
Whatever the law might be, I’m observing wineries don’t really care and don’t obey it. I ordered several time from wineries outside of Ontario. Shipment was received within a couple of days. My favourite is Tidal Bay from Nova Scotia. https://grandprewines.com/collections/our-wines

I asked at the new LCBO at Lakeshore why they don’t sell wine from Nova Scotia. The guy said people in that province drinking their own wine. Nothing left to be shipped to Ontario. He said that in all seriousness!
Click to expand...

There is certainly enough stock of good Nova Scotia wine to give a few coverage at select LCBOs.

However, there is some truth in what you were told as well.

The LCBO's default minimum for a general (non-Vintages) listing is 10,000 cases (120,000 bottles)
I don't think there's a single wine from Nova Scotia of which that much is made.

The LCBO makes 2 exceptions to this rule, one is for Vintages and the other for VQA Ontario product. Though I'm fairly sure the odd VQA BC wine has made it through w/o the 10,000 case minimum.

That's not to defend LCBO policy which favours many established 'International Blends' made in Ontario over better 100% Ontario, BC, and NS wines.

Just to say, the LCBO's purchasing, as structured favours very large suppliers and that's a challenge.
 
ShonTron said:
The store at Gerrard and Ontario (if you thought the Jane/Dundas store was bad) has been closed for several weeks now, and is boarded up, awaiting redevelopment.

Brewers Retail might be slowly dying, but they’re cashing out huge on the Toronto store properties.
Click to expand...
People don't recognize that many multi-site retail operators have become real estate holding companies that just sell stuff for cash flow. Even with some of those that are franchise operations, 'corporate' owns the real estate.
 
lenaitch said:
People don't recognize that many multi-site retail operators have become real estate holding companies that just sell stuff for cash flow. Even with some of those that are franchise operations, 'corporate' owns the real estate.
Click to expand...

McDonald’s was one of the first to realize this, back when its strategy was to own the land its restaurants sit on, then collecting rent from the franchisees.
 
It makes sense for Brewers Retail to sell too as the province will more than likely terminate their contract once the current one runs out in, what, 2025? Ford has clearly decided to wait out the contract, but I see no reason as to why he would keep them around and not fulfill his original election pledge of opening up beer sales when the opportunity arises. I imagine most Beer Stores will shutter by then if they haven't already been redeveloped. The writing is on the wall.
 
innsertnamehere said:
It makes sense for Brewers Retail to sell too as the province will more than likely terminate their contract once the current one runs out in, what, 2025?
Click to expand...

September 22, 2025. So yes; but with added specificity.

innsertnamehere said:
Ford has clearly decided to wait out the contract, but I see no reason as to why he would keep them around and not fulfill his original election pledge of opening up beer sales when the opportunity arises. I imagine most Beer Stores will shutter by then if they haven't already been redeveloped. The writing is on the wall.
Click to expand...

A curious note though; nothing in the agreement with The Beer Store would preclude Ontario from further opening wine sales, which the government has thus far chosen not to do.
 
Before prohibition, we were able to buy beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, cigars, etc. at the local mom-'n-pop convenience stores. Nowadays, we even have to go to a corporate store (IE. Shoppers Drug Mart) for a Presto card. Nowadays, its needs to be corporate owned to do business in Ontario.
 
There are still lots of 'mom-and-pops' around but it often difficult for them to compete with large chains on getting sales agreements for things like Presto. From ML's perspective, they sign one contract with with SDM and let SDM deal with the downstream to their stores.

In terms of selling product, small independent stores simply don't have the purchasing power of the large chains. The corner store buys product for one store's worth of sales; 7-11 can negotiate prices based on much larger sales.
 
Personally after the Beer Store contract ends, I would allow any retail outlet to sell any alcohol products that have 10-12% alcohol by volume or less. Basically most beers, wines and coolers. I would keep the LCBO for spirit sales, and all of the above, but also change policy that retailers could negotiate and buy directly from manufacturers and not be forced into buying from the LCBO wholesale/distribution monopoly.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top