mhicken November 9th, 2009
Interesting story this morning on Bordeaux prices. Diageo, one of the largest purchasers of Bordeaux worldwide, is exiting the business and liquidating their huge Bordeaux wine inventory at greatly reduced prices. This is creating a cascade of downward price pressure for Bordeaux in the U.S. with retail prices ebbing below wholesale in some cases. Here in B.C., we are, of course, “insulated” from bargains by the LDB … but will consumers keep buying Bordeaux here when they see prices collapsing south of the border?
Tags: bordeaux, LDB, marketing, prices, retail, wholesale, wine
mhicken October 5th, 2009
It appears that change is already in progress for “Cellared in Canada” (CIC) wines as 2 of B.C.’s Big 3 commercial wineries are reported to be changing their CIC labels so as to promote more transparency and honesty in labelling. The Vancouver Sun reported on the weekend that changes are in progress and will be in place prior to the Olympics. The adjunct to this is that the retail level marketing and display of these products also needs to be changed so that consumers will not receive any misleading information as to the origin of the wines at the store level. In both government and private stores, CIC wines need to be displayed separately from real B.C. product, perhaps in a new display section with a name something like “Global Blends”. The BC LDB will also need to fix its statistical reporting practices for BC wines as it is currently including CIC sales within BC sales statistics. It’s not really that difficult to do … hopefully, we will see change on this quickly in order to protect the “British Columbia” brand for wines that are produced from 100% BC grown grapes.
Update (Oct 9, 2009): More coverage on this issue from the political side on Global TV News yesterday. However, it appears that good progress is being made on cleaning up the labelling and marketing issues: Jancis Robinson has stories on her web site that cover changes for Cellared in Canada wines in British Columbia and a working group for Ontario to enact changes on Cellared in Canada there. I have also heard that changes are imminent at the BC LDB.
Tags: bc, cellared in canada, labelling, LDB, retail, vancouver sun, vqa, wine
mhicken September 24th, 2009
I have an op-ed piece in today’s Vancouver Sun in which I argue that it’s time for the BC government to get out of the retail side of the liquor and wine business. I have really only glossed over the myriad of problems in this piece but suffice to say, I think that British Columbia is long overdue for sweeping reform of both its retail liquor and wine distribution system and the related regulatory framework. Simply put: our government could make more money, grow the industry and have more effective liquor policy if it adopts broad changes. It’s time to bring B.C.’s liquor laws and retail system into the 21st century - and it’s a perfect Olympic legacy project.
By the way and not surprisingly, the BCGEU’s president, Darryl Walker, disagrees with me on these issues (which is fine). However, in a response on his web site, he labels me “a lobbyist”. Just FYI … I am not a lobbyist and have not been paid by anybody to advance my opinions. My opinions on reform of BC wine laws are solely motivated by the fact that I am passionate about wine and care about the wine industry.
Tags: bc, government, LDB, liquor, retail, stores, wine
mhicken September 4th, 2009
An ongoing issue between the operators of the VQA wine stores and the BC Wine Institute (BCWI) has surfaced again following the BCWI’s threat to revoke 2 VQA store licenses for allegedly not meeting sales quotas. Carol’s Wines in Coquitlam and Arrowsmith Wine Shoppe in Parksville have both been told their licenses will be pulled by the BCWI as of the end of September. The BCWI technically holds all of the licenses for the VQA stores which were given to it when it was originally established as the marketing authority and regulator for VQA wines. However, the BCWI is no longer the regulator of VQA standards (this was transferred to the BC Wine Authority) and now only represents about half of BC wineries for marketing purposes (although most of the big ones are members). Despite an obvious conflict of interest, the BCWI still holds the retail licenses and makes a good chunk of its revenue from a cut of VQA store sales.
Many VQA store owners are unhappy with the current setup and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business is acting on their behalf, having recently sent a letter to the Minister responsible for liquor distribution and licensing, Rich Coleman. The letter outlines a litany of complaints including allegations of: unilateral changes in the terms of the licenses, restricted product availability, increases in BCWI fees, administrative issues and the aforementioned conflict of interest. Most of the problems relate to the current patchwork structure of the retail licensing system which is long overdue for major reform. However, it is the individual operators of the stores that tend to get caught in the middle. Only a complete overhaul of the retail system will solve these issues in the long term.
Update: this issue has now been covered in more detail (with comment from the BCWI) in this story for the trade magazine, Wines & Vines.
Tags: bc, bc wine institute, bcwi, licenses, retail, vqa, wine
mhicken August 27th, 2009
Just in case you think that BC has a monopoly on crazy wine laws and retail distribution, check out this story from the New York Times which highlights Whole Foods’ struggle to open a retail wine store in NYC at or near their supermarket locations. New York state does not yet permit wine sales in supermarkets so Whole Foods had to open a standalone store adjacent to their food store. This is, of course, what happened in Alberta where similar rules exist. Superstore and Costco had to open “standalone” stores located across the parking lot from the main stores. This is, of course, utterly perplexing and confusing to consumers who just want to be able to buy a bottle of wine to go with dinner. Here in BC, I am not holding my breath that I will be able to buy a bottle of wine when I go shopping at Whole Foods snazzy new Cambie Street location … there’s an LDB store right across the street.
Tags: alberta, bc, laws, nyc, retail, wine
mhicken June 22nd, 2009
Good article on the Wine Business Monthly web site today discussing the structural problems in Ontario’s wine industry. The article covers off issues related to overproduction, imported juice, “cellared in Canada” wines, direct sales, restrictive LCBO distribution policies, VQA rebates and domestic/import market share. The article points out that B.C.’s industry is much healthier than Ontario’s, partly due to better retail distribution for domestic product, VQA rebates and greater consumer acceptance of domestic product. However, there are common problems. Given Canada’s relatively miniscule share of the international wine market, wouldn’t it be nice if we had a common national vision in order to fix the problems and create growth for all Canadian wine?
Tags: bc wine, distribution, LCBO, LDB, market share, ontario wine, retail, vqa, vqa rebate
mhicken November 12th, 2008
Just read an interesting story in this month’s BC Business magazine which reviews the story of the Campbell government’s promise to privatize the liquor business in BC and how that promise came unstuck in a labour deal with the BCGEU. With a spring election on the horizon, perhaps it’s time to remind the Premier that most British Columbians aren’t so keen on a system that sticks it to us with limited choice and the highest prices in North America.
Tags: bc, BC liquor stores, LDB, liquor, retail, wine
mhicken September 11th, 2008
Reuters is reporting today that Amazon.com is poised to enter the U.S. retail wine market in October. Apparently, the U.S. internet retailing giant will partner with Napa-based New Vine Logistics which is already in the order fulfillment business for many American wineries. This partnership is likely to create a major shift in the U.S. wine retail business because a massive online supermarket will be created with fulfillment coming directly from a company that is already servicing many wineries. The cost to the wineries for using this distribution model will likely be significantly less than the current three-tier system that is in place in most of the U.S. The major stumbling block to the introduction of such a system in the past has been restrictive U.S. shipping laws. However, much of the U.S. has now opened up to state-to-state shipping due to the Supreme Court decision in Granholm v. Heald and a new wave of shipping compliance services (which includes New Vine Logistics).
Tags: internet, laws, marketing, retail, shipping, wine
admin August 14th, 2008
In news that we can only dream about here in Canada, the Washington State Liquor Control Board has just announced a pilot project to permit wine tastings in Washington supermarkets. The program begins October 1st and will include major chains such as Safeway, QFC and Albertsons as well as independent stores. The program requires tasting pours of 2 ounces or less with a maximum pour per person of 4 ounces.
Tags: retail, supermarkets, tasting, wine
