Sudbury convenience stores say alcohol sales boosting their bottom line
With news that big box grocery stores are allowed to sell alcohol, CTV News decided to check in with local convenience stores to see how sales are going.
Store owners got the green light to sell alcohol on Sept. 5. We talked to two store owners in the Greater Sudbury area.
Himanshu Patel, Douglas Variety owner, said alcohol sales have been a real boost to his bottom line. (Alana Everson/CTV News)
Himanshu Patel has been operating Douglas Variety for the past 15 years with his wife. In early September, he started selling alcohol at his convenience store.
"It’s going good -- it has helped with business and everything and it’s convenient for the customers, too," Patel said.
Patel said he is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and sells alcohol during those hours. He added sales have surpassed what he projected and said it also helps boost the sales of other items.
"Customers like it OK," he said.
"They got convenience and they got any time, anywhere and nearby."
Amit Parmar owns three Kwik-Way stores in Hanmer, Val Caron and Minnow Lake.
Parmar said convenience is a big attraction for customers.
Amit Parmar owns three Kwik-Way stores in Hanmer, Val Caron and Minnow Lake. (Alana Everson/CTV News)
"They are happy that on their way back home they don’t have to go in a long lineup at the LCBO or Beer Store," he said.
"They can stop in, they can buy their milk they can buy their smokes, they can buy their lottery and they can buy their drinks, also. So, they have been very happy."
Parmar said his biggest challenge is pricing, given that delivery costs are based on volume. And he said product prices can change from week to week.
Still learning
"We are (still) learning with the pricing and invoicing," he said.
"We got the product, but we weren’t getting invoiced for four weeks, so everybody was guesstimating the price. There was not any store trying to price gouge, but we are still learning about the delivery charges and all those things."
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
At Douglas Variety, Patel said when it comes to alcohol sales, 75 per cent of customers are regulars and 25 per cent are passersby. He said the busiest time for sales is in the evening and on holidays.
"You know, when the beer store LCBO closed, (those) days are very busy," he said.
"Almost more than double."
Patel said he has not yet had to turn away a customer trying to buy alcohol because of intoxication.
He added he asks customers who look under the age of 25 for ID almost daily.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Donald Trump picks former U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
This is how much money you need to make to buy a house in Canada's largest cities
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
Canada's space agency invites you to choose the name of its first lunar rover
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is inviting Canadians to choose the name of the first Canadian Lunar Rover.
'My two daughters were sleeping': London Ont. family in shock after their home riddled with gunfire
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
Smuggler arrested with 300 tarantulas strapped to his body
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Boissonnault out of cabinet to 'focus on clearing the allegations,' Trudeau announces
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
Baby dies after being reported missing in midtown Toronto: police
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
Sask. woman who refused to provide breath sample did not break the law, court finds
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.