Ontario has selected the first grocers that could sell both domestic and imported wine inside up to 70 grocery stores across the province, increasing convenience and choice for consumers.
The winning grocers from across Ontario were selected via a competitive bidding process held by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).
The sale of wine in grocery stores is scheduled to begin October 28, 2016.
Reflecting a mix of independent and large grocers and geographic representation to ensure fairness, the successful grocers are:
– Canex Canadian Forces Exchange System
– Coppa’s Fresh Market
– Farm Boy 2012 Inc.
– Fresh Market Foods
– Highland Farms Inc.
– Loblaws Inc.
– Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc.
– Metro Ontario Inc.
– Sobeys Capital Inc.
– Starsky’s Fine Foods Hamilton Inc.
– Uxbridge Foods Inc.
– Wal-mart Canada Corp.
– Yummy Market Inc.
“The changes to wine retailing in Ontario will help wine producers access a new retail channel, enable local grocers to expand their business and allow consumers greater convenience and choice,” stated Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance.
“Being able to pick up wine alongside food offers more convenience for shoppers. It also provides consumers with greater selection of local Ontario wines as well as wines from across the country and around the world.”
By law, these grocers will have to abide by the requirements for the safe sale of alcohol overseen by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), including designated sales areas and standard hours of sale, limitations on package sizes and alcohol content and staffing and social responsibility training requirements.
Ontario is also developing a comprehensive alcohol policy to promote the responsible sale and use of alcohol.
More details provided by the Ontario government:
– Eventually, up to 450 grocery stores will be authorized to sell beer and cider and, of these, up to 300 may also sell wine.
– Up to 70 existing winery retail stores that operate just outside a grocery store’s checkout will also be permitted to operate inside the store and share the checkout. These “wine boutiques” will broaden their assortment to sell wines made by other Ontario producers, and will be located at grocery stores that sell beer. These wine boutiques will be permitted to begin operating this fall, at the same time as wine is introduced to grocery stores.
– Sales of beer in grocery stores started in December 2015. Between December 2015 and the second week of August 2016, grocers received more than 532,000 cases of beer from the LCBO, amounting to net sales of approximately $24 million.
– Allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores across the province follows the final recommendations made by the Premier’s Advisory Council on Government Assets. Other recent changes to beverage alcohol retailing in Ontario include the sale of beer in grocery stores last December, cider this June, and online shopping at LCBO.com.
– Ontario government photo – Premier Kathleen Wynne.
Have another drink on us Premier Wynne. It appears the Liberals have come up with an excellent strategy to ease our ongoing hydro bill pain, our almost 300 billion and growing deficit and soon to arrive carbon tax, Drink up Ontario. Easier access to alcohol appears to be the Liberal answer to all our growing financial concerns. Our once great Province, the envy of other Provinces for our prosperity and great looking future is becoming the poorest, most indebted Province in Canada. We have become one of the most expensive Provinces to do business in and our current Government has no plan, other than selling off more of our irreplaceable one time only cash infusion assets, along with taxing us more to feed their uncontrolled spending. I am starting to think that our current Ontario Government believes that booze is the answer to all of Ontario’s problems. Oh well, see you in isle 4 at the grocery store, soon.