Total Whine-ing

It is without question that the Total Wine and More liquor retail chain is a national giant in the liquor retail industry. Nationally they have more than 250 liquor stores in 28 states, and generate about $5.5 billion revenue. In Connecticut, Total Wine has four (4) package stores (Norwalk, Milford, West Hartford, and Manchester).

The liquor statutes and regulations that apply to the "mom and pop" liquor retail stores equally apply to the large retailers like Total Wine.

The services that wholesalers may provide to package stores is not based on the size of the store nor how much product is sold by the retailer, but rather needs to be provided in a uniform basis to all retailers.

Total Wine ran afoul of these regulations when it was alleged that a liquor agent observed employees of Connecticut wholesalers stocking beer onto the shelves of the Milford store on December 7, 2021 and again on July 13, 2022 at the Norwalk store.

A formal hearing was held on March 2, 2023 before the Liquor Control Commission This 4-hour hearing included the observations of the liquor agent, together with a video taken by the agent, and testimony from various managers of the Total Wine stores.

In a June 21, 2023 decision, the Commission credited the testimony of the agent, and found that the Total Wine stoles did violate the Liquor Control Act and its regulations by providing free labor, and that this free labor was a prohibited inducement. The Commission levied a total $2,000.00 fine.

Not to anyone's surprise, based on Total Wine's aggressive litigation history, an appeal to the courts was made on August 3, 2023. Total Wine asserts that what the agent actually was seeing saw was the rotating of stock, i.e. moving older beer stock inside the retailer' s store to the front of the shelf.

In addition, on December 26th, for Total Wine filed a 25-page brief alleging that, among other things, that the department's investigation was flawed, that the agent's investigation suffered from "confirmation bias", i.e. a tendency to gather evidence that confirms one’s preexisting expectations, while at the same time, dismissing or not accepting contradictory information.

We'll see how this shakes out as the case winds through the judicial process.

Here is what is allowed, as spelled out in the relevant regulation:

"The rotating of all perishable products is permitted provided that rotating consists of moving stock from rear to front on the shelves in the sales area only, and does not include the stocking or cleaning of shelves and other similar services on the shelves in the sales area or any other area"

For more information about liquor regulations or best practices, please contact The JJS Consulting Group, LLC

Connecticut Liquor Industry Specialist