Booze rollout 'saved a lot of stores from closing,' chair of Ontario Convenience Store Association says

Beer cans are stacked as props in front a display of milk at a press availability attended by Ontario Premier Doug Ford at a convenience store in Toronto, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

It’s been a little over two months since corner stores around the province began stocking booze on their shelves and the chair of the Ontario Convenience Store Association says the new alcoholic offerings have been a lifeline for many businesses in the province.

“Overall, it seems to be going great,” Terry Yaldo, OCSA chair, told CP24.com on Monday.

“A lot of store owners are happy to see the new foot traffic and at the end of the day, we believe that saved a lot of stores from closing because a lot of people were kind of just hanging in by a thread and trying to make ends meet.”

As of Sept. 5, licensed convenience stores across the province were given permission to sell beer, wine, and ready-to-drink beverages as part of the Ford government’s plan to expand Ontario’s alcohol retail marketplace. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is the exclusive wholesaler to convenience stores around the province.

As of Nov. 14, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) says 4,792 convenience stores have been issued a licence to sell alcohol.

Valdo said the rollout has had some “hiccups” along the way, particularly around keeping certain items in stock.

“I think one of the biggest issues, it’s slowly getting better, is the ready-to-drink (beverages),” Valdo said, adding that items like White Claw and Twisted Tea are in high demand.

“A lot of those items, to get restocked, the turnaround time was a little longer than we were hoping, so a lot of stores were out of stock or are out of stock. That’s just going to take time.”

While some grocery stores who acquired licences to sell alcohol have since opted out of selling booze, citing concerns about theft and low profit margins, Valdo said the circumstances are somewhat different for convenience stores.

“To have this new category, and for our industry foot traffic is very important, so to get people in the door, it really helps,” he said.

He noted that issues around theft are not as much of a concern for convenience stores.

“In a convenience store, most of our stores are smaller, so we can see pretty much the whole floor space. So that helps control theft and security issues,” Valdo added.

The most popular item in the category so far, he said, is beer.

“Ready-to-drink, over the years, has been increasing their market share and it’s a nice little draw for us, especially the younger demographics,” he said.

He said for the most part, stores are seeing a bump in revenue thanks to alcohol sales.

“We could see… it was trending in the wrong direction and now it’s kind of slowly trending back up. So that’s very positive,” he said.

“It’s not going to be something that will happen overnight. It’s going to be a gradual change, especially as consumers get used to it, people know what we have. We’re still learning the products too.”

Valdo said he is optimistic that some of the distribution issues will work themselves out in the future.

“I just want people to be patient when they go to their retailers or their local stores and understand if there’s something out of stock, we’re all learning here,” he said.

“Give us time. Once the dust does settle, we want you to be an ongoing consumer.”