By Tracy Wates
It’s the battle of the box stores — with a twist.
In early May, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is opening a bulk liquor store on Rideau Street at King Edward Avenue. A week later, a Quebec company is opening up its own bulk liquor store in Hull.
Coincidence? Hardly.
The new two-level, 30,000 square-foot LCBO store is a response to the 21,000 square-foot outlet being built in Hull by the private company La Societe des Alcools du Quebec (SAQ). The LCBO store just happens to be on the route most motorists would take to reach the new Quebec store.
This means, the LCBO is finally being forced to compete on prices, service and location — just like any other business.
These new stores herald good tidings for consumers. Vodka, rum, rye, gin and cognac will now be available in unlimited quantities at $35 for a 1.75 litre bottle — $10 less than the cheapest brand currently found in Ontario or Quebec.
The LCBO previously had not discounted on alcohol because, as LCBO spokesperson Chris Layton says, “Part and parcel of government policy in Ontario has been to encourage social responsibility.”
Luc Boyer, manager of the new SAQ store says they too believe in social responsibility.
“Just because they buy a new case of wine doesn’t mean they’re going to drink it in one night,” he explains.
One would hope not. But his point represents a philosophy still weak in Ontario: individuals should be able to decide for themselves how much of a legal product they want to buy and when.
To their credit, the LCBO has cleaned up its act in recent years.
Terry Simzer, communications assistant to Ontario Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Bob Runciman, says his ministry is very pleased with the progress of the LCBO. He says it has been returning higher profits and has made the liquors stores “exciting environments to shop in.”
The new bulk liquor store is the next step in the reform of the LCBO, but one must remember it was a step forced by competition.
And more competition could be around the corner. A Montreal company that owns chains of convenience stores, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., has talked asking the Ontario government for permission to sell beer and wine in its convenience stores it recently acquired in Ontario.
Although no formal proposal was presented, Simzer says the government would look at any request seriously.
What this all means for the LCBO is their days of inefficienct operation are over, if they want to remain competitive.
Perhaps one day, they won’t even look like government monopoly.