More people blindsided by the Monopoly

When an institution like the LCBO is given full control of an industry, many people suffer. Customers no longer have the choice of visiting competing stores. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are prevented from entering the industry, even if they feel they could do a better job serving the customer than the monopoly. Finally, suppliers lose access to all alternative avenues for retailing their product, a crippling problem when the monopoly won’t buy from them.

The National Post has a good example of suppliers being hurt by the LCBO monopoly. According to David Menzies, the recent closure of an Owens-Illinois glass plant in Toronto is due in part to LCBO purchasing policies. The last few years the LCBO has been “encouraging” Ontario wineries to adopt tetra packaging instead of glass. This hurt sales at the Owens-Illinois glass plant, contributing to its closure and some 500 lost jobs.

Menzies explains the issue better than I can, but think for a moment about the idea of the LCBO “encouraging” tetra packaging. You are a small wine producer in the Niagara region of Ontario. You produce several thousand cases of bottled wine a year. Because of the LCBO monopoly, you sell most of this through the LCBO system and the rest on your on-site wine store. A well-dressed LCBO official knocks on your door and tells you the LCBO now prefers tetra to glass bottles, though he says that the choice remains up to you.

Now what do you do? The LCBO claims to be only encouraging tetra, but keep in mind that they control your access to almost all the wine shelf space in the province. Do you risk pissing them off, losing your business, and going broke, or do you start putting your wine into tetra? Either way, you’ll understand why monopoly hurts… it reduces choices.

Don’t forget to sign the End the LCBO petition!

 

LCBO Myth #1

Everyone in Ontario is familiar with these retailers:

The difference between the Ontario branches of these stores and those elsewhere is the ones in Ontario can’t sell wine. In most US states, Walmart and Costco can sell the product. Costco and Real Canadian Superstore retail wine in Alberta, while 7-Eleven sells it in the US and Mac’s does so in Quebec. Grocery stores in Quebec including Loblaws and IGA peddle wine too.

The logic underlying Ontario law is that these stores are “irresponsible” sellers and consumers will be tempted to buy too much alcohol from them. Ontario would become a den of drunks, thieves, and godless hedonists. Only the government-run LCBO can prevent this, goes the myth.

Across the border in Quebec and the US, society has not collapsed into anarchy despite the ability of consumers to buy alcohol from places like 7-eleven and Walmart. It’s time for Ontario to join the rest of the world and end the archaic LCBO wine monopoly

 

An inconvenient truth

The LCBO has announced that “as a convenience to Ontario consumers and visitors, approximately 350 LCBO stores across the province will be open for the civic holiday on August 4.” The language of the announcement implies that the LCBO is doing us a favor for which we should be thankful.

We think it might be best to reword the announcement thus: “As an inconvenience to Ontario consumers and visitors, we will close 250 of our 601 retail stores, or 42% of our entire chain, in order to make it harder for irresponsible Ontarian drinkers to buy alcohol.” If you read things this way, you realize that the LCBO is doing us no favours.

The silliness of the current system is that 42% of stores are shut down on a warm summer holiday, the very point in time in which alcohol demand is highest. In a free system without the LCBO, storeowners would make an effort to be open in order to meet the demands of holidaying consumers. Instead, we are forced to stockpile alcohol in anticipation of LCBO closings. How long before Ontarians see how silly the LCBO is?

 

Sign the End the LCBO Petition

Our End the LCBO petition is up so please stop and by to sign it, and tell your friends.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/endtheLCBO/index.html

In addition to our LCBO petition, Derek Forward has started a petition to remove the Beer Store monopoly. It’s closing in on 5000 signatures. Please sign that one too if you get the chance:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nobeerstore/index.html

 

Ex-LCBO “Bandit” sells convenience store owners short

The Sarnia Observer reports that convenience store owners are pushing for the right to sell alcohol. In the same article Ex-LCBO CEO Andy Brandt “the Bandit” claims that convenience store owners, profit hungry private businesses that they are, can’t do a good job checking IDs.

Andy, if convenience store owners are deemed able to sell cigarettes, is alcohol too much of a responsibility for them? I doubt it. And don’t we already let bars sell alcohol to customers? Are you saying that bartenders are trustworthy enough to sell alcohol but those convenience store guys are a bunch of crooks? No? Cause it sure sounds like it. And doesn’t the LCBO already permit 200 or so convenience stores in remote locations to operate as agency stores, selling alcohol on behalf of the LCBO? Why do you think that convenience stores in the boonies can do a good job but not those in the cities?

I’ll tell you why. The LCBO is fighting tooth and nail to uphold its lucrative monopoly, and it’s most lucrative in the cities, not the countryside.

As for Andy the Bandit, some may recall the secret $2,100 he received each month from the LCBO to maintain an apartment over his fifteen year tenure as CEO, as reported by David Menzies in the National Post. Who are the real crooks here? The convenience store owners or Mr. Bandit?”

 

It’s time to end the LCBO and the Beer Store

Welcome to the End the LCBO website. We are dedicated to informing the residents of Ontario about the negative aspects of the LCBO and Beer Store monopolies. We believe that the best system for a 21st century Ontario is one of free choice, in which consumers, retailers, and producers have the liberty to select how they want to buy and sell alcohol.