With the Maharashtra government allowing sale of wine through supermarkets and shops, retailers will gain up to 25-30 per cent profit even as original wine shops will lose around 20-25 per cent of their business. Meanwhile, it will become more convenient for consumers as buying wine from a departmental store will mean shorter queues and dampening of social stigma.
Consumers that the Free Press Journal spoke to said it will also make it safer for women to buy wine. Viren Shah, the president of Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA), a leading organisation representing small and big retail traders, said, “This will boost the sale and increase business, it will give an advantage to at least 1,000 shops across the state and the expected increase in profit is around 25-35 per cent on maximum retail price (MRP).”
Shah added wine is both indigenously produced and even imported, and it will be a winwin situation for both farmers and manufacturers. “It will be easily available and the competition between stores will be tough, so they will end up giving discounts which will benefit consumers,” added Shah. Balram Vishwakarma, a consumer, said, “I am happy with this decision because buying wine from the supermarket will make it more convenient. This will also boost the sale of wine manufactured in Maharashtra. Moreover, we live in 2022 and I think that we need to do away with the stigma that alcohol and its consumers carry.”
The chairman of Maharashtra Wine Shop Association, Dilip Giyanani said, “Around 20-25 per cent of total sales of wine shops will go down after consumers start buying wine from supermarkets. As far as wine is concerned, there are some areas that do well in terms of profit and some which do not do so well; for example, elite areas do well, so the shops in these areas will be badly hit."
FPJ photo
FPJ photo
