Bobby’s Corner House Variety owner Sean Wang said getting into the alcohol market comes with competition.
Like many other corner stores, he was able to start selling alcohol this week after applying to do so. Located directly across from Prince Charles Public School, he said the addition of alcohol has not meant a significant change for his store as of yet.
“It’s low profit, low margin,” he said but added that he wanted to take the opportunity the province gave him. “If we sell at a high price, they (customers) better go to LCBO right? It’s not far from here, so competition.”
Newmarket corner stores began offering alcohol sales this week at more than two dozen locations. But store owners say the impact on businesses could be small, with competition keeping the margins thin.
Miung Kim, owner of TB Variety, said it will be better than nothing, but he does not know how much business it will bring in.
“This is really low margins, you know?” he said, adding, for a licence, “the cost is too high.”
As of Sept. 5, more than 4,000 corner stores in Ontario are licensed to sell alcoholic beverages, which includes beer and wine.
“With today’s announcement, we’re also creating new opportunities to produce and sell world-class Ontario-made beer, wine and ready-to-drink beverages in nearly 4,200 convenience stores across the province,” Premier Doug Ford said in a Sept. 5 news release.
“In addition to supporting Ontario retailers, domestic producers and workers in the alcohol industry, our vision for a better marketplace has come to life thanks to people and businesses across the province,” Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy said.
However, the move has garnered criticism for costing the government hundreds of millions due to cut deals and potential revenue from LCBO lost.
New Town Variety supervisor Harsh Patel said that since it is allowed, it is just a way for stores to add another item that could help business.
It is early days, but Patel said people have been casually asking questions about it and the hope is it helps increase sales.
R. Yours Convenience owner Ruchid Savadaya said it is too soon to say how alcohol sales will impact his business, but the hope is it might be like other things that get people into a store. He said the margins are, indeed, low, but so too are the likes of lottery tickets that will get people to come by.
“I think it will go well. Not as great as everybody was expecting, but I think it will be all right,” he said. “It’s about volume. You can’t compete when it comes to Walmart, or Metro, or any other grocery store.
“There is so much product and it’s an open market,” he added.
Regardless of how sales go, Wang said it shouldn’t leave too much of an impact on his business. Customers are saying it offers some convenience, he added.
“It doesn’t matter. If it sells a lot, I get a lot. If it sells slowly, just slowly,” he said.
