As in-person sales decline, SAQ prepares to close stores, change opening hours

Alcohol products are shown at an SAQ outlet in Montreal, Tuesday, December 7, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

The opening hours of hundreds of Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) locations are set to be modified in the coming months, as part of ongoing changes coming to the Crown corporation.

The SAQ confirms that two branches will be closing this spring, one in Rivière-Bleue, near the New Brunswick border, and another in Chicoutimi centre-ville in the Saguenay region.

Additionally, two branches in Brossard, on Montreal’s South Shore, will become one and a new store is set to open in Sherbrooke, in the Estrie region.

“We review the location of branches whose leases are due to expire in the coming months at the start of each year to ensure that our stores are in the right place to meet customer habits, and make corrections where necessary,” explains Linda Bouchard, a spokesperson with the SAQ.

The opening hours of 251 stores across the province are also set to be adjusted “according to the traffic curve.”

Bouchard explains that some stores will open earlier or later, while others will close earlier or later “to keep in step with customer behaviour.”

“These changes are part of a sound management practice,” she notes.

The changes come as the SAQ points to a continued decline in sales in stores during the second quarter of its 2024-2025 fiscal year.

“Specifically, sales fell $3.7 million or 0.4 per cent compared with the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year and reflecting a 1.3 million litre or 2.8 per cent drop in volume sales,” the SAQ notes. “Volumes in this network maintained their downward trend, as has been the case for the last seven quarters, a development largely attributable to changes in customers’ shopping habits.”

Nevertheless, the SAQ says online sales were up 7.6 per cent compared to the same quarter last year, reaching $19.9 million.

In total, the SAQ reported a net income of $337.8 million, a $1.5 million or 0.4 per cent increase from the same quarter of the previous year.

“The SAQ will intensify its efforts to contend with the constantly changing market and the trend toward lower volumes,” the Crown corporation noted in its report.