March Clay Insider issue

Page 17

March 2009

Wine

from page 1

small business advocates and wine sellers hunkering down to take on the often regional or national grocery, convenience and drug store chains.

Bad for business

Mike Alsid, whose wife Erin owns Moyers Corners Liquors in Clay, said the move will definitely hurt smaller stores. “Wine is our bread and butter,� Alsid said. “The majority of our sales and the majority of our profits come from wines.� Alsid said that’s the case with most small liquor stores. “People think, ‘Oh, liquor stores mostly just sell hard liquor,’� he said. “Maybe that was the case 30 years ago, but it’s not now. Wine is the biggest part of our business.� And that business impacts the state economy as a whole. “The coalition [of which Moyers Corners Liquor is a member] estimates that 1,000 liquor stores will close if this goes through,� Alsid said. “And there are only about 2,700 in the state. That’s almost 40 percent. You’re talking 4,000 or 5,000 jobs.� Indeed, according to Michael Hennigan, who owns both Nichols Grocery Store and Nichols Liquor in Liverpool, the only entity to benefit

from the move is the state – and even that benefit will be short-lived. “It’s a money grab,â€? Hennigan said. “And it’s a one-time thing.â€? Hennigan wrote a letter to several state legislators asking them to vote down the measure for that reason, among others. â€œâ€Ś[T]here is a one time franchise fee of a half of one percent of a supermarket’s prior year’s total sales,â€? he wrote. “A relatively small neighborhood supermarket would need $50,000.00 to pay their franchise fee. A larger volume supermarket, such as a Wegmans or Price Chopper unit would require a franchise fee in excess of $250,000.00 per location. This would be in addition to the actual fee of the new state license to sell wine in a supermarket. While the accumulated franchise fees from across our state would bring in millions of dollars, this is a one-time occurrence and very short sighted.â€? He also pointed to the loss of employment that would result if the measure passed. “Should wine be available to supermarkets and other retailers that currently sell beer the economic impact will be negative,â€? Hennigan wrote. “Wine in other retailers will have a massive detrimental impact on the liquor and wine merchants across the state. The liquor and wine retailers across our state will decrease significantly. Some experts feel over one third or 1000 liquor and wine stores will close as a result of this

proposal. These are real jobs that will be lost, never to be regained‌ At the supermarket, there will be no increase in employment by this proposal. A supermarket will not need to hire any additional cashiers or stockers in order to sell wine. There will be no appreciable increase in total store scheduled hours in order to offer wine to the supermarket’s existing customer base.�

But, maybe not

On the contrary, Paul Speranza, vice chairman of the general counsel and secretary of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., noted in a telephone interview that selling wine in stores other than liquor stores would create jobs on the production side of the wine business. It is unlikely liquor stores would hire more people than they already employ, Speranza added. But if the retail outlets for wine is increased, grape farmers and wineries will be able to employ more people to meet demand for product. Speranza testified to the New York State Senate Finance Committee and Committee on Ways and Means to state his case and discredit liquor store owners’ two main arguments: that liquor stores can’t survive selling the hard stuff alone, and restrictions placed on liquor and wine sellers will not allow them to compete with grocery, convenience and drug stores. Speranza claimed 30 to 40 percent

Clay Insider, 17

of liquor stores’ profit comes from hard liquor, not wine. “So they’ll still have the monopoly on that,� he said. And as for the limited hours of business and restrictions on items sold, imposed by the state - liquor store owners need to take that fight to the state, not grocers.

The bottom line

The collaborative efforts of liquor store owners throughout the state, and even in the same small towns, is a sign that competition between local stores has taken a back seat to the threat that none of them may be able to survive if the proposition passes. But a little more competition is only fair, Speranza pointed out. Liquor stores hold the monopoly on liquor and wine sales, and it’s only fair to consumers to break the monopoly at least on wine and pass competition-induced price savings on to shoppers. As Speranza pointed out, this is but the most recent battle in a decadesold fight. He and Danny Wegman, who founded the chain, started working to put wine in Wegmans stores more than 30 years ago, Speranza said. The difference this time is that the move is part of the governor’s budget. But that isn’t making Speranza any more optimistic about this go. “We still need to be realistic,� he said.

Ă… Ă… Ă… Ă…

Å Ås{{z ?L;HFEEBÅ ?HIJÅ D?J;:Å ;J>E:?IJÅ >KH9>Å – >;Å >KH9>Å ?J>Å >;Å KHFB;Å EEHI—

KD:7OIĂ…7JĂ…uĂ…FÂ CÂ Ă… H;;Ă… ?BBĂ… ED7J?ED

Ă…s{{z

Sometimes selling cookies requires a little extra creativity. Bridget Kinsella (above, left) is dressed as a Tag Along and Maggie Kinsella (above, right) is dressed as a Trefoil; both girls are in Troop 90 of North Syracuse. This month marks the 97th anniversary of the organization which has been peddling its famous cookies since 1917.

7DK7HOĂ…svĂ… Ă…

7D:?9;Ă… EH8?DÂ…Ă… EFH7DEĂ… ‰ ?D=?D=Ă… DĂ…7Ă… ;MĂ… ;7Hˆ

;8HK7HOĂ…rvĂ… Ă… Ă…

;BBOĂ… EL;HJÂ…Ă… BKJ;Â…Ă…M?J>Ă… E8Ă… KB;HÂ…Ă… ?7DEĂ…Ă… H;DD7Ă… H:D;HÂ…Ă… ?L;HFEEBĂ…IJK:;DJĂ…E<Ă…Ă…

IÂ Ă… EL;HJÂ…Ă…M?BBĂ…7BIEĂ…7FF;7HĂ…

7H9>Ă…yĂ… Ă…

ED7J>7DĂ… D=B?I>Â…Ă… ;DEHĂ… ‰ DĂ… K:?EĂ… ?E=H7F>OŔÅ >;Ă… ?<;Ă…E<Ă…7Ă… ;DEHˆ

7H9>Ă…ssĂ… Ă… Ă…

;JDEHĂ… H7IIĂ… >E?HĂ…7D:Ă…Ă… ;JDEHĂ… ;MĂ… KI?9Ă… DI;C8B;Ă… ?H;9J;:Ă…8OĂ… 7C;IĂ… Â Ă… ;BI9>

Ă… Ă… Ă… Ă… Ă…

BBÅE<ÅJ>;Å78EL;Å>7L;Å7Å EO<KBÅ E?I;ÅÅ 7HH7J?EDÅ7HJ?IJÅJ7BAÅM?J>ÅH;<;H;I>C;DJIÅÅ 7JÅ ?L;HFEEBÅ K8B?9Å ?8H7HOÅ7JÅtÅF C ÅÅ EDÅJ>;Å:7OÅE<ÅJ>;Å9ED9;HJ Å– ;H<EHC7D9;IÅÅ <EBBEMÅJ>;Å7HJ?IJÅJ7BAÅ7JÅuÅF C Å7JÅJ>;Å9>KH9> —

FH?BĂ…swĂ… Ă…

;JDEHĂ… >7C8;HĂ… DI;C8B;IĂ… ?H;9J;:Ă…8OĂ… 7HEB?D;Ă… J?DIED

7OĂ…rxĂ…

7HEB?D;Ă… J?DIEDÂ…Ă… ;BB?IJ

Ă… Ă… Ă…

?L;HFEEBÅ ?HIJÅ D?J;:Å ;J>E:?IJÅ >KH9>Å w{uÅ IM;=EÅ J …Å ?L;HFEEBÅÆÅuvxÄvry{Å ;8ÅI?J;‚ÅMMM B?L;HFEEBVHIJKC9 EH=

D=Â ?D=? ;Ă…KDJEĂ…J>;Ă… EH:Â…Ă…7BBĂ…O;Ă…B7D:IÂ Ă… ; ?J>Ă…I <KBĂ…DE?I H L;Ă…J>;Ă… M O Ă… E @ ; Ă… 9 EH:Ă…M?J> A;Ă…7 H;I;D Ă…=B7:D;II

7 †Å9EC;Å8;<EH;Å>?IÅF

Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.