“Allowing wine sales in grocery stores is not a zero-sum game.” – Fred Carstensen – Professor of Finance and Economics, Director of the CT Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut

  • According to a study conducted by the UConn Center for Economic Analysis, legislation to permit wine sales in grocery stores is a no-cost, voter-supported measure that increases consumer satisfaction without harming current incumbents.
  • There is a good reason retailers merchandise products on the perimeter, at the front end, and on cash registers – with certainty they can count on incremental or impulse purchases.  Many wine sales in grocery stores will be impulse purchases which leads to some of the incremental growth we see in different impact studies.
  • In fact, “The economic impact analysis indicates no negative impact on any retail sector, consistent with available evidence from other states that introduced wine sales in grocery stores.”
  • Which proved true in Tennessee where, prior to the law allowing wine sales in grocery stores, the state had 691 licensed liquor stores. Several years after the law changed, package stores businesses increased to 740.

Grocery stores compete with multiple channels of trade. Packages stores should too.

  • Package stores should be allowed to sell other highly consumable categories to offset any profit loss but they refuse to compromise.
  • Prepared foods are the most profitable grocery store category.
  • Grocers compete with a wide-ranging retail landscape for prepared food sales including other grocers, club stores, convenience stores, sandwich shops, pizza places, deli’s, diners, coffee franchises, food courts, food trucks, caterers and traditional restaurants.

Allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores doesn’t take away jobs from union drivers.

  • Contrary to the Teamsters Union public testimony, grocery stores wouldn’t use central warehouses to distribute wine – they currently abide by all state regulations selling beer and would continue to purchase alcohol products within the current distribution framework.
  • Therefore, there is no risk to the three-tier distribution system or job loss for delivery drivers.
  • In fact, there may be more jobs because there will be more wine purchased.

Current state law prohibits grocery stores from opening a package store anywhere they want.

  • While grocery stores are currently allowed to sell beer, to sell wine they would be required to relinquish their beer permit and obtain a full liquor permit. Grocers are not interested in selling spirits.
  • Opening a package store depends on the availability of a license in that individual town or city.
  • The current law only allows an entity to back one permit.