NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR RURAL LIQUOR FRANCHISES

Rural residents may soon see an increased selection of specialty wines, spirits and beer products at their local liquor franchise.

The province's 185 rural liquor franchises can now special order wine, spirits and beer not sold in Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) liquor stores to better meet the demands of their local market.

"The change will help create new markets for rural liquor stores," Minister responsible for SLGA Dan D'Autremont said. "For example, some Saskatchewan towns may have a specific cultural group that has been looking for certain products not listed by SLGA and now the local liquor franchise can help fulfil that need."

The franchisees will still be required to sell products listed by SLGA at SLGA liquor store prices, but will be able to enjoy open pricing on any specialty products they may choose to list.

The amount of special order products a franchisee can sell will be limited to no more than 20 per cent of shelf space. The commission they receive on products purchased for resale will remain unchanged at 15.3 per cent.

"Many of our members have had customers asking for certain products and under the old rules we couldn't bring them in, so this is an exciting change," Saskatchewan Liquor Vendors Association president Hugh Nerlien said. "The Association represents the province's 185 rural liquor franchises. It's not something that all of our members may access, but it gives them the choice to cater their product selection to their specific community."

Saskatchewan's liquor retail system is a mix of public and private operators. There are 79 public liquor stores, 185 private businesses in rural Saskatchewan that operate as liquor franchises on behalf of SLGA and approximately 450 private off-sale outlets located throughout the province.

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For more information, contact:

David Morris
Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1721 Hugh Nerlien
Saskatchewan Liquor Vendors Association
Phone: 306-278-2126