NABCA CHAIRMAN FRED WOOTON
Cindy Clark - Beer Division Administrator , Kim Hayes - Spirits and WIne Division Administrator , Anoop Bhasin - General Counsel , Fred Wooton - Commissioner , Shawn Smith - Licensing and Education Administrator , Gig Robinson - Spokesman , Andrea Cummings - Executive Secretary , Julia Jones - Comptroller
Stores can opt to terminate their licenses prior to the 10-year renewal period by selling them to another retailer within the same designated market zone . This sale must be reviewed and approved by the WVABCA . The most recent bid cycle for the state ’ s 182 licensed retail liquor outlets took place in 2020 . It garnered more than $ 53 million for West Virginia ’ s general revenue fund — an increase of $ 15 million over the previous licensing period .
Retail licensing is not the only way the WVABCA ’ s revenue is growing . Bailment sales in West Virginia have also grown consistently in the last several years , with fiscal year 2022 sales totaling more than $ 130.6 million — up by 2.03 % from the year prior . The number of total case sales between fiscal year 2017 and 2022 increased by more than 186,000 ( nearly 200,000 during the same calendar year period ). Total annual revenue sales have also increased dramatically , from approximately $ 93.2 million in fiscal year 2017 to approximately $ 130.6 million in fiscal year 2022 — an increase of $ 37.4 million .
Wooton attributes all of these increases to good product management .
In addition to propelling growth , Wooton has focused much of his energy on infrastructure improvements .
After being appointed commissioner , he was tasked with
completing a comprehensive warehouse renovation project that had been in process for more than a decade . As part of the effort to modernize the 153,000-square-foot facility located in Putnam County , Wooton led an initiative to install a new security system equipped with state-of-the art camera technology throughout the warehouse .
To replace the warehouse ’ s former , privately owned water system , Wooton oversaw the removal of an outdated 300,000-gallon water tank , and installation of more than 3,300 feet of new water lines , while also fixing a number of breaks and leaks created by the old system . Wooton is also in the final stages of installing a new fire
14 StateWays | www . stateways . com | Summer 2023