Alcohol sales up this holiday season, says NLC

The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation has seen a significant increase in sales this holiday season.

NLC CEO Steve Winter said Black Friday was a big reason for the upswing, with sales about double what they've been during the same time for the last few years.

He said the NLC sold about $1.5 million worth of product on Nov 28, which he believes may have had to do with their advertising campaign.

"When we advertised that we would have a Black Friday promotion, people thought that this was an opportunity to get some good buys." he said.

"For our business, the prices we have on some products were quite approachable. Five dollars off a lambs 1,750 ml, and the normal promotion would have only been $3."

Busy season

Winters said that during the week of Christmas, sales totalled $9.25 million, up about four per cent.

"We had a very good Christmas week, which is critical to our overall success for the year," he said.

Winter said Dec. 23 was the biggest day of the year for the NLC, with sales up over $9 million.

"That was up 4.5 per cent for the same week for last year," he said.

Winter said champagne and sparkling wine, which is usually a small part of their sales, spikes in popularity during New Year's Eve by almost 10 times the average.

2014 trends

Winter said there have been some shifts in the types of alcohol that people in Newfoundland and Labrador bought over the past year.

Winter said that spirits such as rum and whisky have been on a downward trend now for about a year-and-a-half. However, he said that has more to do with the types of spirits that people are buying.

"In dollars, we are about the same. The economy is such that you are seeing people trade up to buy some better spirits," he said.

"Obviously, prices have gone up over the years too."

He said that wine sales are trending upwards in the province as well, by about eight to nine per cent.

"The thing is, our per capita consumption of wine is still low," he said.

"We still have a long way to go before we get to the national average; we are about two-thirds of the way there now."

Another area where the NLC is seeing increasing sales is in what they call "ready to drink" beverages, such as coolers and flavoured beers.

"That category is very much alive, up about 25 per cent," he said.

Beer is also a growth area, according to Winter. 

"The real growth is in the products that come in from different places around the world."

Winter said that Dom Pérignon champagne was one product that saw a decrease in popularity in the province in 2015. 

At $250 per bottle, those sales are down 20 per cent.