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Unlike Fine Wine, Wine in Grocery Stores Proposal Doesn’t Get Better with Age
August 5th, 2009
by Mike Elmendorf
It’s been a tough year for small business in New York. As if starting off in the state with the nation’s second highest cost of doing business and the most challenging economy since the Great Depression weren’t enough, we saw record spending and tax hikes come out of Albany that will increase costs on virtually every New Yorker. Already struggling small business owners will be paying higher taxes and fees and more expensive health insurance and energy bills as a result--and at the worst possible time.
The defeat of the job-killing proposal to allow the sale of wine in grocery stores was one key victory for small business this year. However, supporters of this flawed proposal are back at it again--and even though they have repackaged and rebranded it, this idea is not like a fine wine; it doesn’t get better with age.
Small business is the heart and soul of our economy. It not only accounts for most of the private sector employment in New York, but is responsible for most new job creation as well. Far beyond simple economic impact, small businesses define communities across our state. We need to be advancing policies that support small businesses and foster their growth. Unfortunately, changing the rules mid-stream to allow the sale of wine in grocery stores would imperil the survival of many liquor stores--each and every one of which in New York is a small, independent business.
If you can think of a business, chances are we have an NFIB/NY member doing it. Our diverse membership includes not only liquor stores, but farmers, grocers, convenience store owners and wineries, and everything in between. NFIB is unique in that our members directly determine our positions on key issues through our “Member Ballot,” with every member getting an equal voice. Earlier this year, we asked our members about wine in grocery stores, and by a more than two-to-one margin, 67% opposed it.
After wine in grocery stores was resoundingly rejected by the Legislature earlier this year, the latest incarnation of this proposal attempts to shore up support by making a number of changes to the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control law to give liquor stores more flexibility in exchange for allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores. NFIB shared the new language with our impacted members to get their reaction and determine if it would alter our position, and not one member who responded indicated it would soften their opposition.
Plain and simple, this proposal is still bad news for small business. It will not create new jobs, and will jeopardize the very existence of small, independent liquor stores. Some point to the $120 million or so in revenue the state projects it might receive from new permit fees if this proposal were to go forward. What about the loss of jobs and revenue from liquor stores that might well be shuttered as a result? Albany should not be trying once again to balance its bloated and unsustainable budget on the backs of small businesses. Liquor stores already took a major budget hit this year with a new “floor tax” that has driven up their tax bills by hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars.
The Legislature got it right the first time. Wine in grocery stores is wrong for New York and small business. Small business in New York is already under fire. We are looking to the Legislature to once again do the right thing by standing up for New York’s entrepreneurs and job creators and saying no to wine in grocery stores.
Mike Elmendorf is New York State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), New York, the nation’s leading small business advocacy association.
8 Responses to “Unlike Fine Wine, Wine in Grocery Stores Proposal Doesn’t Get Better with Age”
Sorry, comments are closed for this article.
August 7th, 2009 at 01:11 PM Grocery stores don't have to give up anything?????? Yet want Liquor Stores to give up their wine! More than half their business is every day wines. The measly offerings of this bill is ridiculus. Liquor stores will not be able to compete against them. I say, take the beer away from the grocery stores and see what happens. All alcohol should be in trusted hands of liquor store owners.
August 7th, 2009 at 06:03 PM If you're going to comment on an issue, at least you should know your facts. There's no proposal that would require liquor stores to give up wine sales. Liquor stores would still have many advantages such as being able to stock a larger variety of wines and having knowledgable sales staffers. Further in many states liquor stores sell beer as well as wine and alcohol. If New York's store owners want the benefits of free enterprise, they ought to be willing to live under its rules.
August 8th, 2009 at 12:24 PM I agree with you Mike. My husband owns a liquor strore, you are also on the money when it comes to the Floor tax. Supermarkets will carry box and low class wines and believe me when I say they will not hire any new employees for it. Will they pay a floor tax, or would there be someway they could get around it. They will also not have the knowledge that the owners of liquor and wine stores have, as well as the oversight on minors drinking. This would also put small liquor stores that are next to supermarkets out of business, hurting employees and families of these liquor stores.The state needs to think more clearly about this, instead of thinking of those that shop at supermarkets (including college kids) that would make it easy for them to settle for any kind of wine there is. Another point, is that there are many New York wineries that would be hurt by this proposal.
August 8th, 2009 at 05:46 PM I didn't say it was a proposal. Liquor stores will lose their every day wine sales to the grocery stores. These wines are the ones that keep them in business, not the occasional high end wines.
August 8th, 2009 at 06:03 PM Ultimately should our laws favor one class of citizens to the disadvantage of others? In this case it is the general public that is disadvantaged by the present laws that restrict wine sales and drive up prices relative to other states. For years, NYS wine growers complained about the difficulties they faced getting their wines into NYS liquor stores. They too were disadvantaged so that the liquor store owners could maintain their monopoly control. Further, in order to try to hold onto their monopoly liquor store owners have come up with the fictitious argument that allowing wine sales in supermarkets will lead to sales to underage buyers. Should fictitious business claims be rewarded? If in this case, then why not in others? I sympathize with the owners because some may lose business and others may close, but they need to recognize the weakness of their position and bargain for the ability to compete fairly. In time that is their own hope.
August 9th, 2009 at 09:57 AM In response to the editor: Are you really that naive, considering the state of our economy. NYS wine growers are against allowing wines to be sold in supermarkets. My husband carries them and they have told him so. What is the real reason to put wines in supermarkets? Just another way to put the small businesses out of business! You also mention compete fairly. There is no monopoly, but if you put it in supermarkets, I assure you their will be - by them! As far as prices, why don't you go into a liquor store and ask to see the ordering book from Southern or Empire which are the two top wholesalers. They have the monopoly.
August 9th, 2009 at 12:25 PM Prices would not be any lower than the Liquor Stores and there would be less to choose from. Prices are controlled by the State Liquor Authority and Wholesalers. Grocery stores will have to abide by the rules too. In Florida, California and Texas, all states that sell wine in grocery stores, the rate of alcohol related fatalities is double that of NYS - and if you look at underage alchohol related fatalaties, that rate TRIPLES! And nine out of 10 underage alcohol related arrests are traced back to purchases of beer in GROCERY STORES! Alcohol is a controlled substance for good reason, so much so that 18 states run all wine & liquor sales themselves, and allow little or no private enterprise. Most states do not want to advance laws that encourage consumption and increase drinking. NYS wine growers complaints come from very few. Those that do complain need to get out and market their wines and offer wine tastings in the liquor stores. The majority of NYS wine makers are against this bill. Many of the small ones don't make enough to supply grocery stores and only sell wine from their premises. This bill will not pass. Majority of the legislature are against it. Legislature Chairman Jonathan F. Rouis said, “It is obvious that this change would decrease the volume of sales made in our locally owned businesses and would increase sales for larger, corporate-owned grocery, convenience and drug stores. This loss of sales and revenue would detrimentally impact our locally owned businesses and the county as a whole, because the corporate-owned stores send their profits to other counties and states where the corporate headquarters are located.” This bill is clearly in favor of chain supermarket companies. In Assemblyman Morelle’s own area, majority are against wine in grocery stores when he presented his own bill. An April 20th poll at Sienna found that the majority of New Yorkers support the decision to keep wine out of grocery stores. These are the real people, not phony polls done by Big Box Stores. Assemblyman Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, the Assembly’s minority leader Posted Jun 02, 2009 The topic of grocery stores selling wine — even if it meant some neighborhood liquor stores might be put out of business — received the survey’s first majority negative response, as 30.96 percent said supermarkets should sell wine, 56.99 percent answered no, and 12.05 percent chose no opinion. Liquor stores are a monopoly?? Big Box stores deploy monopolistic tactics to eliminate competition, offering consumers 'one stop shopping' and 'the lowest prices.' Once independent retailers are priced out of the market and choice is reduced, Big Box stores raise prices and limit supply to private label brands and the most profitable lines.
November 2nd, 2009 at 06:35 PM The most important point to push to prevent this from happening is the effect on society from easier access to alcohol... drunken driving accidents, teenage drinking etc... nobody really cares about small businesses losing out...its part of capitalism...