Wine Expansion Redux
Had a Letter to the Editor published in the Syracuse Post-Standard today regarding the renewed push to expand wine sales in New York to (with the addition of liquor sales, expanded hours, and ABC deregulation):
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Wine in groceries bill would increase abuse
To the Editor:
The phrase “penny wise and pound foolish” comes to mind when reading about the latest attempt to deregulate New York state’s alcohol control system by dramatically expanding the availability of wine and liquor to convenience stores, corner stores, drug stores and supermarkets (“New wine sales bill proposed,” Post-Standard, July 30).
Proponents of the measure conveniently gloss over the public health and public safety impact and the associated costs. Make no mistake, those costs would be considerable.
Given the well-established link between increased alcohol consumption and a range of expensive health and social problems – including breast cancer, violence, accidental injuries and child abuse and neglect – there would certainly be massive additional expenses shouldered by our already overloaded law enforcement, social services and health care systems (most notably, Medicaid).
In other words – a boon for a few businesses and a burden for the rest of us.
At the very least, there should be a thorough health impact assessment of this proposal, undertaken by a respected, disinterested firm.
Better yet, this bill should be sent back to the lobbyists whence it came.
Robert Pezzolesi
Center for Alcohol Policy Solutions
Syracuse
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Brad Finn of the Prevention Network (and CAPS board member) had a thoughtful LTE published on the same topic this past Sunday.
More to come on this topic.
A recent study conducted by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods confirms what industry insiders have been saying for months now: consumers crave value. The report did not touch on the drinks industry specifically, but noted that almost two-thirds (64%) of global consumers indicated that value for their money is most important when making decisions to purchase food, household and personal products on their most recent grocery store trip.
When shopping for food, global consumers were most likely to consider value and taste, with nearly two-thirds of them citing these as decision-making factors. Next, consumers were most likely to consider the quality (55%) and expensiveness (50%) of the food product and then healthy ingredients (44%).
We think this study backs up what many markets in the wine and spirits industry are saying. Consumers want value for their money, meaning a good, solid product that meets their needs for a reasonable price. Interestingly, convenience was a more important factor in household and personal product purchase decisions than in food purchase decisions (48% vs. 34%). Clearly taste is much more important for a food (or beverage) since it’s something that you consume. Approximately 1,000 interviews were carried out between October and November 2008 in 22 countries.
Reprinted with permission from Wine & Spirits Daily, Inc.