TRIP REPORT
Lester Jones , Danny Brager , Brandy Rand and Hasan Bakir .
Former NABCA chair Fred Wooton with the newly installed NABCA chair Becky Schlauch .
Chad Moutray , Gary Cohen , Mark Roy and John Bodnovich .
EVP government affairs and franchising , Glory Days Grill . “ Spirit sales are about the same , but beer and wine is not .”
During the same panel , Mark Roy , division director of marketing , merchandising , and warehousing for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission , discussed the NHLC ’ s highly successful manner of handling another tricky area today : allocated products .
Twice per year the NHLC holds an allocated whiskey lottery . Evolved from simpler times many years ago , when Roy literally picked names out of a hat , today the commission uses software and proprietary algorithms to select winners from among 12,000 entrants .
Another , newer way that the NHLC retails these hotly-sought-after bottles is through “ ghost drops .” Palates of allocated items arrive at stores wrapped in black , delivered by special trucks . Only a select number of NHLC officials know when and where this is going to happen . Consumers lucky to be at the right store on the right day can buy up to six bottles each of trendy items like Buffalo Trace Stagg and E . H . Taylor Small Batch .
The goal with both systems is to maximize fairness and transparency when dealing with allocated items that can be the source of much angst and drama from whiskey enthusiasts .
In his speech on consumer trends , Phil Lembert , known as the Supermarket Guru , described today ’ s customer base as “ bifurcated .”
“ We have luxury buyers , and we have buyers who are concerned about price ,” Lembert explained . “ Many consumers are nervous . Walmart , Target , Aldi all recently announced that they ’ re lowering their prices . The message we ’ re giving to the consumer is value .”
Yet , there is also that huge demand for luxury goods . Top-shelf items have seen 86 % growth in the last four years , Lembert said . Among the 35−44 age group , luxury alcohol was the number five most-desired luxury purchase .
This odd disparity , today ’ s consumers seeking value but also luxury , is reflective of the overall state of the industry . By some measure , things appear good . By others , there ’ s cause for concern .
One positive note : “ Control state members are doing better than private states ,” said Brager , during the panel on economics . •
8 StateWays • Fall 2024 www . stateways . com