Liquor Industry Update --------------------------------------------------------
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Liquor Industry Update:
April 4, 2024
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Dear ABLE BC members and industry colleagues,
Here's the latest news for the private liquor industry:
- A Message from ABLE BC Director and LRS Policy Committee Chair Mike McKee
- Non-BC 'Value Priced' Wine to be Sold at Save-On-Foods
- ABLE BC's Okanagan Liquor Industry Meetings
- Concerns On Scope of Bill 12
- BC Takes Early Action to Prepare for Wildfire and Drought Season
- Register for WORTH Association's Inaugural Leadership Summit
What you'll find in every newsletter:
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A Message from ABLE BC Director and LRS Policy Committee Chair Mike McKee
I am honoured to serve as a Director for ABLE BC and Chair of the LRS Policy Committee. This committee comprises engaged ABLE BC members from across the province, representing large, small, independent, and chain LRS businesses.
We meet monthly to discuss and monitor industry issues, such as shifting consumer trends and decreased liquor sales, distribution inefficiencies, and unfair retail practices from BC Liquor Stores. I am continually impressed by committee members’ dedication to ABLE BC, their business acumen, and unique insight into industry challenges and possible solutions.
At our most recent meeting, we discussed two topics: a buyers sub-committee whose purpose is to clarify practical business and regulatory solutions to distribution issues and unfair BC Liquor Store retail practices; and Wine Growers BC’s recently amended agreement with Save-On-Foods (more on this in the following article).
The buyers sub-committee will identify concrete solutions for ABLE BC to act on. This sub-committee will focus on distribution of NSWP, RTD, and popular new-to-market items, ensuring that industry has fair and immediate access to the products our customers want. The committee will continue to monitor unfair retail practices by BC Liquor Stores and identify regulatory solutions that will finally level the playing field for private retailers.
If you have an issue for the LRS Policy Committee, please contact ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard at jeff@ablebc.ca.
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BC’s Hub for Workplace Mental Health
The Canadian Mental Health Association has created a resource hub for employers and employees dealing with mental health challenges at work.
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Cannabis Industry Update Newsletter
Sign up for our Cannabis Industry Update Newsletter to learn more about our advocacy for cannabis retailers. Click here to read past cannabis newsletters.
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ABLE BC
Member Portal
The Member Portal is your hub for all resources and benefits available to ABLE BC members. Contact david@ablebc.ca if you need help logging in.
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Non-BC 'Value Priced' Wine to be Sold at Save-On-Foods
Last week, Wine Growers BC (WGBC)—the industry advocate for BC’s wineries—announced changes to its agreement with grocery retailer Save-On-Foods that permit “limited sales of Canadian, International, and blended wines produced in BC.”
This means that Save-On-Foods—which sells BC VQA wine in 20 of its stores—will now be permitted to sell a limited amount of “value priced” (i.e. under $15/bottle) wines made in BC with a blend of local and non-BC grapes. Save-On-Foods requested the change, citing: “changing consumer preferences and buying habits, wholesale price increases, and diminishing allocation as contributing to making operating of the licenses unprofitable under current conditions.”
According to WGBC (who own the Save-On-Foods licenses), this change will support BC wineries who need “to replace production lost because of recent climatic events,” as well as to permit Save-On-Foods “to fulfill lower price tier demand.” For further details, click here to read an update from Miles Prodan, CEO of WGBC.
While we of course support BC’s wineries and grape growers, private liquor retailers worry this is the “thin edge of the wedge” industry has warned about for years. As ABLE BC’s President, Yvan Charette, put it during last week’s LRS Policy Committee meeting, “How does helping a billionaire’s grocery chain sell cheap Canadian and international wine support BC’s wine industry?”
It’s a good question.
Background
Many of you will recall the intense discussions around wine in grocery a decade ago, when the previous Liberal (now United BC) government announced that, for the first time ever, BC would permit alcohol to be sold in grocery stores. As ABLE BC’s brand-new Executive Director at the time, it was my highest priority: prevent the liquor in grocery model that had decimated private retailers in Australia and the UK from taking hold in BC.
After a year of meetings with ministers, presentations to City Councils, debates with winery partners, and hundreds of conversations with members, we achieved a delicate balance. While we didn’t keep grocery out entirely, we kept them in a corner. There are only 33 wine-on-shelves licenses available in BC, and grocery is restricted to selling only BC wine, cider, sake, and mead.
Save-On-Foods is owned by Pattison Food Group (PFG) and sells wine via an operating agreement with WGBC, who own 21 VQA wine licenses on behalf of BC’s wine industry. Prior to 2015, these licenses existed as standalone BC VQA Wine Stores selling 100 per cent BC VQA wine on consignment from BC’s wineries. Because of their unique origins, the licenses are not subject to the provincial 1 km distance rule.
In 2016, the BC government auctioned off another 12 new Special Wine Store licenses. PFG owns two of these licenses, while Loblaws owns the remaining 10. To avoid contravening Canada’s trade agreements, the licenses permit sales of international wines. While you’ll find international wines at Loblaws, Save-On-Foods has been restricted via its operating agreement to selling only BC VQA wine.
Our reaction
Mention “wine in grocery” to any BC liquor retailer, and they’ll tense. We all know that, left unchecked, grocery liquor sales are an existential threat to the private liquor industry.
Fortunately, there are still some guardrails in WGBC’s revised agreement. All wines sold in Save-On-Foods must be blended in BC (by a WGBC member), and blended products can take up no more than six per cent of shelf space or 12 linear feet. The shelves must also be labelled clearly to indicate the bottle contains non-BC wine.
More importantly, the provincial government has been repeatedly clear that it has no intention of issuing any new wine in grocery licenses.
In the short term, this new agreement will mostly benefit Save-On-Foods—who will now be more competitive on price—and the BC wineries who currently have blended wines in their inventory. It is unclear if or when other wineries will start blending wines with non-BC grapes, but it seems likely given the damage done to Okanagan vineyards this January.
In the long term, this change may have concerning consequences. Ten years ago, Save-On-Foods promised it only ever wants to sell 100 per cent BC wine. One wonders what other changes they may seek in the days ahead.
ABLE BC’s Board of Directors and LRS Policy Committee will be discussing this issue in detail at upcoming meetings. Rest assured, we will always work to halt further advances of grocery liquor retailing in BC.
If you have any questions, you can reach me directly at jeff@ablebc.ca.
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ABLE BC's Okanagan Liquor Industry Meetings
The ABLE BC team is kicking off this year's Liquor Industry Meetings in the Okanagan!
ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard and Manager of Membership Services David Lough will be meeting with liquor industry professionals throughout the Okanagan from April 8-10.
These meetings are open to owners, managers, and staff from any business in the private liquor industry. We are delighted to extend an invitation to all bars, pubs, hotels, liquor stores, manufacturers, and agents in the Okanagan.
No need to be an ABLE BC member to attend!
We're pleased that Martin Brochu of Foodbuy Canada will be joining the ABLE BC Liquor Industry meetings! If you've been considering working with Foodbuy, now is the best time to learn more about the perks of their business.
Come learn about ABLE BC memberships, key issues we’re focusing on, and how you can get more involved in shaping BC’s private liquor industry.
David and Jeff will be discussing these issues:
- Changes to BC's wine in grocery model
- LRS temporary relocations
- Benefits and services exclusive to ABLE BC members
- Combatting rising inflation and labour shortages
- Curtailing costs of increased crime and vandalism
- Allowing cannabis consumption on bar and pub patios
- The Minors as Agents Program
- Shifting consumer trends
- And more!
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Penticton
Monday, April 8
3:00 pm-5:00 pm
Local Public Eatery
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Kelowna
Tuesday, April 9
10:00 am-11:30 am
Royal Anne Hotel
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Vernon
Tuesday, April 9
4:00 pm-6:00 pm
Prestige Vernon Hotel
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Kamloops
Wednesday, April 10
10:00 am-12:00 pm
Fox'n Hounds Pub
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Concerns on Scope of Bill 12
On March 14, the BC government introduced Bill 12, the Public Health Accountability and Cost Recovery Act. The Bill would allow the government to sue goods and services companies to recoup costs incurred by government if products or services caused disease, injury, or illness.
ABLE BC, along with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and approximately 20 other business associations, penned a letter expressing shared concerns regarding the scope of Bill 12. The letter emphasizes the importance of safeguarding the health and wellbeing of British Columbians while highlighting potential risks associated with the current breadth of the proposed legislation.
Read the full letter here and additional legal analyses from McCarthy and Aird Berlis.
ABLE BC's Executive Director Jeff Guignard will join other business associations in a meeting with BC's Attorney General Niki Sharma next week. This meeting is an opportunity for associations learn more about Bill 12, ask challenging questions, and request a deferral of the draft bill until more stakeholder engagement is completed.
If you have any questions about Bill 12 or would like to share how it may impact your company, please contact jeff@ablebc.ca.
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BC Takes Early Action to Prepare for Wildfire and Drought Season
The province is taking several early steps to prepare for wildfire and drought season, including working proactively with local governments and First Nations to help keep people and communities safe and informed.
As part of the Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies, wildfire preparedness and support for evacuees has been enhanced, incorporating advanced wildfire predictive technologies, expanding the number of firefighting tools available to BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews and streamlining training for Emergency Support Services (ESS) responders.
Current forecasts show BC may experience an active spring wildfire season due to persistent drought conditions. This activity is expected to increase if there continues to be limited precipitation over the next several weeks and months.
During emergencies, information about evacuation orders and alerts will be shared by local governments and First Nations at Emergency Info BC.
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Register for WORTH Association's Inaugural Leadership Summit
For the first time in Western Canada, women leaders and their allies in recreation, tourism, and hospitality will come together for a full day industry event hosted by WORTH Association. Top voices in the sector will share insights, sparking vital dialogues on issues affecting women in the workplace. Their perspectives will inform, ignite, and empower to collectively identify ways to retain and develop women leaders.
The Summit will take place at the beautiful Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, BC on May 13th, 2024.
This event offers a unique opportunity to unite a community of leaders from businesses and organizations across BC, fostering connections and meaningful relationships through empowering sessions and collaborative networking.
Featuring dynamic keynote sessions from industry luminaries, including:
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Cannabis Corner:
Webinar on Provincial Efforts to Address Illicit Cannabis Operations
Attention ABLE BC Cannabis Retail members! Save the date for an upcoming member webinar with the Community Safety Unit (CSU) on Tuesday, April 23rd at 2pm. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about provincial efforts to address illicit cannabis operations.
Stay tuned for more information! Or if you’d like to register early, contact ABLE BC’s Head of Cannabis Membership Bo Chen at bo@ablebc.ca.
Want to get involved in our cannabis advocacy? Contact Bo Chen at bo@ablebc.ca to learn more about membership. And make sure to sign up for the Cannabis Industry Update newsletter to stay informed on all our cannabis efforts.
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go2HR on Tap:
Managing Seasonal Layoffs with Compassion
go2HR is a regular contributor to the ABLE BC Liquor Industry Update newsletter, providing tips and guidance on current HR trends, new legislation, employee recruitment and retention, and more. To read the latest instalment, sign in to the member portal or sign up for the newsletter.
Handling seasonal layoffs can be challenging for employers. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news, but employers have to make the right choices fitting the needs of their business to ensure long-term health. This is especially true for small businesses, as they typically have lower volumes and cannot support as many employees year-round. Employers should be compassionate during layoffs, offering guidance and professional support to departing seasonal employees.
Regional HR Consultant, Christie Blaquiere shares somes tips and advice about handling seasonal layoffs with compassion:
- Be sure to prepare all necessary documents and people,
- Prepare for different, and possibly emotional, employee reactions,
- Offer support to laid-off employees and help them find their next job opportunity,
- Read more tips here.
Employers can also provide references or leverage their networks to find available positions that align with the employee’s interests. This strengthens the employer's connections while helping the employee find another career opportunity. Read the full article with more tips and advice on how to best handle seasonal layoffs on the go2HR website.
Christie Blaquiere is an HR Consultant for the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region. Do you have questions or need HR advice? Connect with our HR team for a free consultation.
go2HR, the HR and health and safety association for the BC Tourism and Hospitality Industry, has a wealth of free resources to support you. We invite you to connect with us to learn more about how you can support your employees at hr@go2HR.ca.
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Celebrating 20 Years of ABLE BC!
2024 marks both ABLE BC’s 20th anniversary and Jeff Guignard’s 10th anniversary as Executive Director. In 2014, one of Jeff’s first items of business was to fight the spread of wine on grocery store shelves. As you know, wine in grocery stores is a key issue we are focused on now (scroll up to read more). Like ten years ago, we’re prepared to protect your assets and investments in the private liquor industry.
As Jeff said in the 2015 ABLE BC Advocacy Report, “We believe selling wine in grocery stores is a bad fit for BC’s economy and wine industry in the long term. While we continue to work with our provincial partners, ABLE BC is encouraging BC’s municipalities to enact bylaws imposing a minimum 1km distance requirement between all retailers of beverage alcohol, including grocery stores.” We dedicated countless hours to fighting wine in grocery in 2014 and 2015, meeting with members to understand business impact, submitting feedback to government, and launching a municipal campaign to protect local LRS businesses.
In 2015, BC allowed wine sales in grocery under two models: store-within-a-store, where an LRS operates inside a grocery store, and Special Wine on Shelves licenses that allows grocery to designate shelf space to 100% BC wine.
ABLE successfully limited grocery licenses to just 33: 21 VQA licenses owned by Wine Growers BC and operated by Save-On-Foods, and 12 Special Wine Store licenses that were auctioned in 2016 by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) and purchased by Save-On-Foods and Loblaws.
We also convinced municipalities to enact 1km distance bylaws or restrict grocery to the impractical and unpopular store-within-a-store model.
We will continue to keep grocery in a corner. Government has confirmed it will not issue further wine in grocery licenses.
Last year, Vancouver City Council approved a bylaw amendment to allow wine on grocery store shelves instead of the previously approved store-within-a-store model. This change brought the city in line with provincial regulations, and did not introduce any new wine in grocery licenses in Vancouver. Despite having very little impact on Vancouver LRSs, this change highlights our frustration about municipalities removing barriers to wine in grocery, which may hurt local small businesses.
Wine in grocery is a current focus once again, with the recent amendment to Wine Growers BC’s agreement with Pattison Food Group. Scroll up to read more about what is happening now.
Rest assured, ABLE BC remains committed to protecting your assets and investments in the private liquor industry. We will always fight against selling any liquor products in grocery stores, convenience stores, and big box stores.
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Pictured: Jeff Guignard speaking at the 2016 BC Liquor Conference
Do you have a story to share about your own history with ABLE BC? Get in touch with ann@ablebc.ca.
Stay tuned for more details about our June 6 anniversary party!
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Out and About with ABLE BC
Our Executive Director Jeff Guignard and Manager of Membership Services David Lough will be travelling through the Okanagan next week to meet with liquor industry professionals. If you’re interested in joining one of our meetings, scroll down for registration links.
If you can’t make a meeting but would still like to discuss liquor industry issues with someone on our team, don’t hesitate to reach out! Jeff and David will be able to take a few one-on-one meetings during their tour. You can also schedule a phone call with us any time.
Contact us:
- Jeff Guignard, Executive Director: jeff@ablebc.ca or 604-499-2566
- Ann Brydle, Senior Communications Manager: ann@ablebc.ca or 604-688-5560 ex. 1
- David Lough, Manager of Membership Services: david@ablebc.ca or 604-688-5560 ex. 3
- Bo Chen, Head of Cannabis Memberships: bo@ablebc.ca or 604-688-5560 ex. 2
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Pictured left to right: Jeff Guignard, Ann Brydle, David Lough, Bo Chen
ABLE BC’s Executive Director Jeff Guignard appeared in the following media recently:
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Save the Date: Upcoming Events and Webinars
Check out these upcoming events:
- RC Show, Toronto, April 8-10
- ABLE BC Liquor Industry Meeting, Penticton, April 8
- ABLE BC Liquor Industry Meeting, Kelowna, April 9
- IVSA Buyer’s Tasting Salon, Kelowna, April 9
- ABLE BC Liquor Industry Meeting, Vernon, April 9
- ABLE BC Liquor Industry Meeting, Kamloops, April 10
- ABLE BC Cannabis Member Webinar, Virtual, April 23 – details coming soon!
- IVSA Buyer’s Tasting Salon, Vancouver, April 25
- BCHA Summit, Whistler, May 1-2
- Naramata Bench Spring Release, Vancouver, May 3
- WORTH Leadership Summit, Vancouver, May 13
- ABLE BC’s 20th Anniversary Party, Vancouver, June 6 – details coming soon!
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Copyright © 2024
BC's Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC)
200 - 948 Howe Street, Vancouver, V6Z 1N9 Canada
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