NB Liquor's own brews chalk up frothy sales
Published Friday April 17th, 2009
MONCTON - NB Liquor officials say the attempt to stop sliding suds sales with the corporation's own brews are a frothy success.
The Crown corporation reported Thursday it has sold 32,500 cases of its new Selection beers since the March 12 launch, representing about three per cent of beer sales in the province. Sales of domestic Canadian beers at the province's liquor outlets also grew by 2.9 per cent, NB Liquor officials said.
The corporation's Selection Lager and Selection Light have even cracked the province's top 10 domestic brand sales over the past month.
NB Liquor spokeswoman Nora Lacey said the Selection sales do not appear to be hurting other domestic brands, whose numbers are staying stable.
"One of the reasons that we launched this beer was the decline in market share in domestic beer," Lacey said, adding the number has been sliding for the last three years. "In just one month we have seen a cessation of the decline and a turn to the positive.
"Although it's just a one-month figure, we are very encouraged about the revival of the domestic beer category. People are now purchasing domestic beer in higher percentages than they were before."
The Crown corporation said it also wanted to reduce the number of beer drinkers who travel to Quebec, mainly from the Edmundston and Campbellton areas, for cheaper suds.
To reverse the outward flow, Selection Lager and Selection Light have been priced at $18.67 for 12 cans - the province's lowest allowable price. A dozen cans of beer typically sell for about $21 in New Brunswick.
Liquor store managers near the Quebec border say they seem to be drawing some business from la belle province.
"We're definitely seeing more people in Campbellton," Marc Savoie, manager of the Campbellton and Dalhousie NB Liquor stores, said. "I have seen a lot of new faces in the store and I believe they are people from the Quebec side who are finally coming in and giving us a look.
"Definitely the Selection beer is doing pretty good and I'm not sure if it's just by curiosity, because the people who are buying it keep coming back for it."
Andrew Matheson, manager of the Edmundston NB Liquor store, said he finds Selection Lager to be a popular choice with customers.
Percentage sales of Selection compared to other domestic brands were highest in Grand Manan over the last month. Grand Falls was second, Campbellton fifth and Dalhousie seventh.
Selection Lager had the 10th highest sales numbers in the province over the last month, even ranking ahead of Moosehead Lager in sales statistics.
The new NB Liquor beers are brewed by Moosehead.
Budweiser and Bud Light maintained their stranglehold on New Brunswick beer sales. Alpine, Moose Light, Coors Light, Alexander Keith's Ale, Canadian, Moosehead Dry and Labatt Blue also rank ahead of Selection Lager sales.
Selection Light ranks 12th overall. Both NB Liquor brands rank ahead of Molson Canadian Cold Shots.
Sales numbers were average for the season for all top 10 beers, Lacey said.
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Simply quoting the opinions of a couple store managers makes me think that either cross border sales are still a problem, or it was never the real reason behind the creation of the house brand, which at this point appears to be nothing more than a sweetheart deal for Moosehead.
Ok I think this guy must be drinking too much of this new beer..lol. At $18.67 a case, i'm pretty sure that most who people who bought their beer on the Quebec side are still going to Quebec for there beer. You can get 24 Bud for $24. I'm originally from Dalhousie and when I am home for a visit and head to Campbellton for shopping, I always cross over and stock up on beer. I just finished the last of the beer I bought at Xmas when I was up there. Can't wait to head back so I can buy more. In the meantime, I home brew my own wine. I NEVER buy beer in NB, too expensive!
The ANBL has done absolutely nothing to address the problem of border hopping beer buyers (which was cited as the reason for introducing the house brand back in January), so to suggest that the introducion of the Selection brand of beers has had any effect on that issue is ludicrous. They've since changed their spin citing "domestic market share". The people of NB have been lied to and nobody seems to care as long as they get to save a whopping $0.15 per can.
Yes MolsonCoors has a brewery in NB too, one which saw the provincial government give an $8 billion dollar company several million dollars to take brewing contracts away from a company that has been in New Brunswick for over a century.
Don't get me wrong - I like the occasional beer...although wine is more my thing. And I do buy the occasional lotto ticket. I just think a soceity shouldn't be counting on money from liquor or gambling. Sure tax them the same as everything else, and make them pay for some of their own regulation...but don't start promoting that more people need to be buying beer so NB Liquor can make more money.
Hmmm? and Moosehead never received any handouts in order to keep jobs??? Come on. I had a friend that "used" to work for Mooseheads. I can assure you there has been lots of $$$ that was handed to Mr. Oland without anything coming out of it. If you really knew the reasons why Molson had to set up their own shop in NB you would understand. Moosehead had it setup that the government would gouge the outside breweries in order for them to sell their products in NB. No brewery in NB, have to pay a premium to sell here!!! Pretty similar to the Irvings and the price of fuel. As far as I see it, you support companies that will screw their own fellow NB'ers. If they are so great for the province, why not give us a break and charge the outside markets more $$$ in order to receive our products. Also, they should give us, New Brunswickers who pay the taxes that they receive in form of grants from the government, a freakin' break.
The beer wasn't designed for much flavor, but it's clean and that's what sells now days. It's certainly not offensive like some of the homebrew I've been served as craft beer. I could not image sales being that high if one of the microbreweries were making it.