BC Liquor Distribution Branch's new annual report
By John Schreiner
August 1, 2006
Shopping for wine in British Columbia’s liquor stores is a generally pleasant experience, except for the sanctimonious preachiness of the state retailer, the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB).
For example, the paper bags in which bottles are packed for customers typically exhort customers to drink responsibly – as if anyone pays any attention.
The same political correctness comes through the recently released annual report of the LDB, available on line at www.bcliquorstores.com or in hard copy if you ask for it.
Of course, you cannot argue against programs that “encourage the responsible use of beverage alcohol,” one of the LDB’s goals. But you can be a little bemused at how the LDB ties itself in knots about achieving the goal. There is a policy that staff should ask for two pieces of identification to verify that buyers are actually old enough to buy liquor and the target for compliance is 100%. Last year, apparently only 69% of the staff complied, down from 82% the year before (although most do ask for one piece of ID). Is the policy impractical? Imagine yourself at the cash register in a busy store with a line building while customers fish for that second piece of ID?
Nuggets like this always make for interesting reading when the LDB’s report comes out.
The LDB is one of the largest retailers in British Columbia, with sales of $2.5 billion in the 12 months to March 31, 2006, up about $101 million from the year before. Net income was a handsome $800.5 million, up $21 million from the year before.
Much of the net income ends up in the provincial treasury. “As with all branches and agencies of government, the LDB is aligned to support and implement the government’s goals,” the report says. “The LDB estimates that it will generate $2.5 billion in net income to the government over the next three years ….”
In other words, don’t look for the prices to come down.
With 208 government liquor stores, two distribution centres and a head office, the LDB employs about 3,500 full and part-time employees.
One of the surprising figures in the report has to do with employee satisfaction, which the LDB appears to have measured for the first time. The goal was to 90% of the employees happy with their work. The actual number: 57%.
That number is a bit astonishing, now that the threat of being privatized has gone away.
Well, it has not entirely gone away. There are actually just over 1,000 private liquor stores in British Columbia, 600 of which are what we regard as cold beer and wine stores. “The beverage alcohol model continues to adjust in British Columbia,” the report notes, adding that there is “an opportunity for additional stores to open.” In the year under review, 58 new private liquor stores opened.
The report provides sales figures for each of the LDB’s stores. The single largest outlet is the Vancouver outlet open only to restaurants and similar licensees; it ran up sales of $213.5 million.
Of the conventional retail stores, the biggest ones included Cambie & 39th in Vancouver ($30.2 million); the Thurlow store in downtown Vancouver ($26.6 million); Park Royal in West Vancouver ($23.9 million); Orchard Park in Kelowna ($30.8 million); and Fort Street in Victoria at $17.3 million.
The appendix to the report also includes a few gems on the big-selling brands. The single biggest import beer brand is Mexico’s Corona Extra ($37.5 million last year). The biggest selling spirit was vodka ($160.3 million). What does that say about British Columbia’s flavour preferences?
The biggest selling vodka: Smirnoff Red Label ($48 million).
The biggest selling imported wine: [yellow tail] Shiraz ($10.5 million), double the runner up, Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon ($5.4 million).
The biggest selling VQA wine in the LDB stores: Sumac Ridge Private Reserve Gewürztraminer ($1.4 million), which moved up from third place the year before. It took over from Mission Hill Five Vineyards Cabernet Merlot and Burrowing Owl Merlot.
The top refreshment brand: Smirnoff Ice ($12.5 million), although it slipped half a million from the year before. Mike’s Hard Lemonade has slipped to fourth.
The surprise is what’s in second: Growers Extra Dry Apple Cider ($4.5 million) – surprising because this brand has been around about 50 years and, as fashion trends go in drink, should be dying.
goodgrog@shaw.ca
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