Politics & Government
Stay Calm and Buy More Christmas Liquor
Liquor Control Board marketing director says weekend sales were brisk in New Hampshire, leading to some empty shelves Monday morning.
Nashua State Rep. Suzanne Vail was concerned Monday about the state of the state's liquor stores.
Many of the shelves inside the State Liquor Store on Coliseum Avenue were bare. Vail wondered if the lack of liquor was due to a failed transport system, noting New Hampshire's new contract with Ohio-based Excel.The state changeover to Excel happened Nov. 1, after some 40 years with Law Warehouse in Nashua.
Vail, who was handing out her State Representative business cards, said she talked to one vendor who said their products never arrived for Thanksgiving until 8:45 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve.
"After hearing several complaints, one from a restaurant waitress because there weren't any choices in wine, another from peolpe who'd gone to the liquor store and could not get what they came to purchase, I went into the liquor store and took a few pictures of the shelves," Vail said. "While I was there I found frustrated employees, vendors and customers who were looking for things that were on sale but not available. This is our Number 1 liquor store, and it seems like it's half empty."
Rick Gerish, director of marketing for the state Liquor Control Board, said it's simply the fallout from the busiest weekend at the busiest time of year for state liquor stores."There are no issues from Excel – the stores are just getting caught back up from the weekend," Gerish said. "We have deliveries six days a week a each store. We have another load scheduled this afternoon for that store, and tomorrow morning also. They experienced heavy sales over the weekend. Tell customers not to panic – just give us a second and we'll restock."
As of Dec. 23, sales were up slightly over the same time period in 2012. Gerish said with another day of sales this year, due to the Wednesday holiday, he expects significant gains over last year's sales, which were in the range of $10 million for last Christmas season.
"Christmas is our top sales week each year, followed by the Fourth of July," Gerish said.
Tell us: Have you experienced trouble finding what you're looking for at the state store this season?
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