Ontario Beer Store "monopoly"

[mabudon]

It has been talked about quite a bit lately and with the takeover of Anheuser-Busch by Inbev it seems all the more relevant

The current system of beer distribution seems, to me at least, to run counter to what is supposedly a free-market system. The way it is run, stuff that looks a LOT like kickbacks/payola are an accepted part of the system.

Just wanted to get a topic up for this to see what my fellow Canucks think, beer is a fairly popular topic ya know

 

[scratch]

It has been talked about quite a bit lately and with the takeover of Anheuser-Busch by Inbev it seems all the more relevant

The current system of beer distribution seems, to me at least, to run counter to what is supposedly a free-market system. The way it is run, stuff that looks a LOT like kickbacks/payola are an accepted part of the system.

Just wanted to get a topic up for this to see what my fellow Canucks think, beer is a fairly popular topic ya know

Get rid of the "Beer Stores" and their greedy unions and follow Quebec's example. Put beer and wine into depanneurs, convenience stores and grocery outlets. It will be self-serve but the prices will be much lower and the "open" hours will far exceed that of the current system. Just another example of certain Ontarians who make sure to take their stupid pills every morning. This would result in more beer sales and definitely more satisfied customers.

 

[mabudon]

some form of competition SURE would help- my buddy in Quebec has a truly impressive variety of really fine beers available to him for quite a bit cheaper than I have here in Ontario- he makes sure to point this out regularly

 

[Risus]

The micro breweries get squeezed out by the big boys in the beer stores. Quebec has the right solution...

 

[Praxius]

Here in Nova Scotia, it's all run by the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission..... AKA: NSLC.

I personally don't have an issue who sells the drugs to the community, if it's available and at a reasonable price, who cares?

If you want to complain about the "Free Market" for alcohol.... I'd hate to hear what you have to say about the "Free Market" for tobacco.

"Oh but tobacco kills."

So does alcohol..... and these things that kill us are all regulated by our precious government in order to gain taxes from our deaths and addictions.

Allowing other types of stores to sell alcohol isn't going to affect the prices all that much, anymore then they do being operated by the government..... as they will still have the costs for the producers added on, the taxes the government wants off your purchases, and actually, if alcohol was sold in stores, then those mom & pops would have to add on their own price increase for their own profit margins, so there's no real benifit one way or another, and chances are, those bottles of your favorite beverage would cost more.

Think about how the prices change from store to store when it comes to buying smokes.... I can goto a smoke shop in the local gerocery store and pay $8 a pack, and then goto a gas station, buy the same pack, and it'll rack up to $11.50 to $12 a pack..... depending on where you go.

Quite honestly I don't see it broke enough to be fixed at this point in time.

 

[lone wolf]

Beer Store is owned by Labbatts and Molsons. Anyone who doesn't buy their way into the club gets the shaft. Two really great brewers are gone from Ontario because they wouldn't play the game. Formosa Springs (of Barrie) went into Molson. Northern (of Sudbury and the Soo) tried from it's own stores and did get into the exclusive club in some sort of promotion deal. It's dead too.

 

[mabudon]

Exactly what my complaints are based on- there have been some really good beers that got driven under by them licensing fees. I doubt Inbev pays itself money to put it's own products and its own shelves. There is a brewery in downtoan St.Catharines called "Niagara's Best" and they make some damn good beer- they had a lager that was selling through pretty well at $26.40 a box, but now they have had to raise the price in the Beer Store to 30$ a case- tho if you visit their brewery it's still the same price- the place is not even half a KM away from the beer store but they cited the reason as being transportation and increased cost of ingredients- if they can afford to sell it cheaper on their own site, it would indicate that the "shelf fee" likely has more to do with it than anything else

Could be wrong but it seems unfair to me- and I have to disagree with Praxius there, it isn't necessarily "broke" but it is crazy unfair- the 2 companies who both make most of the beer AND are licensed to sell it don't have to compete with themselves after all

 

[iARTthere4iam]

The LCBO does carry a good variety of craft beer and oddities from around the globe.

 

[mabudon]

True, but if we cross the river there's "beer supermarkets" where there are hundreds if not thousands of options