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Strong sales with liquor, liquor everywhere

June 3, 2012 @ 6:01 pm (Updated: 5:36 am - 6/4/12 )

Booze"We've sold three quarters of the stock we have. That's unofficial, but I can tell you sales have been strong. Huge," says the manager of a Fred Meyer in Seattle.

Initiative 1183, which passed with 59 percent of the vote in November, kicked in Friday taking the state out of the liquor business.

It will be difficult to get immediate sales totals from the private retailers who are coming off their first weekend of selling alcohol in Washington State.

Costco, Safeway and Kroger - the parent company of both Fred Meyer and QFC - are all publicly traded companies. Eventually investors will get some indication of whether liquor sales are successful for the companies.

There's an old adage on Wall Street that the booze business thrives in a recession because people drink even when they're broke.

Alcoholic beverage sales grew by nearly 10 percent last year, according to financial analysts at Sageworks . In 2010, sales jumped more than 9 percent even though unemployment was at 9.6 percent nationally.

P1180331Judging by the number of photos posted on Facebook of grocery store liquor aisles, and full-page, color advertisements in Sunday's newspaper, sales appear to be off to a spirited start.

People were proud to show off the heavily-taxed liquor they bought at stores around the region.

The convenience of picking up a bunch of bananas and a bottle of booze was intoxicating to some.

Has ending the state's monopoly on alcohol sales had an impact on you?

"I don't drink so it doesn't matter to me," says Sandy Reister. "But I am worried the easy access to alcohol of any kind will lead to an increase in crime and domestic violence."

"As someone who enjoys his booze, I find this encouraging," Robert Mears writes, "The whole pricing game is kinda weird and expensive right now. But as the market forms and solidifies, the prices will come down and pricing will stabilize."

Jim Fisler is happy he quit drinking four years ago. With all the new taxes - 30 percent on liquor and King County's $20 fee for car tabs, he says, "you would think they are forcing us to quit drinking and start riding bicycles."

By LINDA THOMAS

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (14)


  • Add A Comment

  • ron prevost wrote...
    well, I hope everyone is happy.
    June 3, 2012 5:58 pm
    Looks like 'be careful what you wish for' has come true.With all the taxes hidden and not so hidden in now 'private' liquor sales, about the only places that will provide cheaper booze in the long run are Costco and the big chain supermarkets. 'Sorry about that' to buyers of the former state stores - and contracted stores who wanted to continue - but remember WHO sponsored this bill in the first place.

    And I hope everyone likes the lack of selection.

    Being a non-user, I wouldn't be a customer anyway. But is this whay you wished for ???

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    Yes
    June 4, 2012 5:25 am
    Not only what we wished for but what we voted for. Thanks,
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fitz1 wrote...
    amazing
    June 4, 2012 6:51 pm
    I guess everyone around here has lots of money, life is good! $35.00 and up for liquor! Tolls are no problem, gas is cheap, boy, you folks sure do have lots of money! I just called the Mariners and asked them to double your beer charge.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Country_Dog wrote...
    Fisler speaks the truth!
    June 4, 2012 5:59 am
    And as for Ron Provost, do you mean that we are losing out access to the immense variety of products that were available at state liquor stores? Yeah, I was overwhelmed by that.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Ron go get a bottle . . . .
    June 4, 2012 6:00 am
    and push back a few. Trust me you need to.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    sorry, CH. Last time we trusted a pot smoker we got 'hope and change'
    June 4, 2012 6:34 am
    And now too many are on the freeway off-ramps. Hoping for change.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cpedgin wrote...
    What lack of selection?
    June 4, 2012 6:12 am
    Its a myth that this privatization would bring less selection, took a gander at the shelves at the Port Orchard Fred Meyer, and it was selection o' plenty. I know exactly who sponsored the initiative, and I am good with that. (you really think all people cared about is getting their booze cheaper?_ If that is the case, you missed the point entirely..it was about removing the state government from a place it did not belong, and never did. Prohibition ended almost a century ago, but did not end in WA state until this past weekend. Also, I have no fear for the buyers of the state stores, entrepreneurs know how to make the best of what they have, and they will make markets for themselves by making themselves unique and catering to their local markets. These entrepreneurs are far better suited to adapt to market changes than the state can ever hope to be. Plus it helps they will not be bound to be paying wages and benefits far in excess of the market norm as opposed to the State who pays a premium for basic retail work.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zoeller wrote...
    Yes!!!
    June 4, 2012 6:21 am
    Very Happy!!!!! :)
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mnpat wrote...
    Anything that is not a monopoly is a good thing
    June 4, 2012 6:45 am
    ...the end
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    I heard that restaurants were buying booze from Costco
    June 4, 2012 7:47 am
    Because the distributors were gouging them. Won't be long till the distributors are gone along with the state.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Nikidajen wrote...
    No big deal
    June 4, 2012 7:50 am
    There's no hidden fees. I paid less at the store I went to for the same product. The difference? I picked up produce too and no longer think, "Why are my tax dollars going for pensions for state employees to sell booze, paying the state to have a retail store, spending tax dollars for the state to drive trucks around and be the distributor..." That's more revenue right there. What's bad about it again? What hidden fees? What they do with those funds is another issue.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BlueTalon wrote...
    Hey Ron, I'm not happy!
    June 4, 2012 12:28 pm
    I went to my local WalMart, got a bunch of stuff and a couple of bottles. The prices on the two bottles was about 75% of what I paid in the state stores previously. Great, right? But dammit, the state charged me $2.83 in tax on each bottle! I am NOT happy about that!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Joe the Printer wrote...
    Blue Talon...
    June 4, 2012 1:31 pm
    That $2.83 is a liter tax, and has been a long standing tax, you just never saw it, as the state had all of their prices figured in to the cost on the price tag. Now, when purchase a bottle at a store OF YOUR CHOICE, they should have all of the taxes broken out for you. AGAIN, privatizing liquor sales was never about cheap booze (a myth), but getting the state out of the business of supplying and selling spirits. Leave that to private business. Right now, prices are basically the same give or take a couple of bucks. In a couple of months, you will see a change with prices starting to go down once more distributors come on line.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BlueTalon wrote...
    Hey Joe
    June 4, 2012 3:47 pm
    I'm with you. I was all for privatization and getting the state out of peddling booze, and I know the market will settle. My surprise was in seeing the tax as a separate line item on my receipt. And you are right, the reason I didn't expect that additional tax is that it was never shown in state receipts. If its existence was common knowledge, I must have been in a cave or something.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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