By Rick VanSickle
It was quite the scene at the Stoney Creek Costco today as shelves were quickly getting stocked with the first Ontario wines to be sold at the giant box store.
The move for Costco to carry alcohol comes as part of the latest expansion of retail alcohol sales in Ontario that began on Thursday. According to the AGCO, retailers with grocery store licenses are allowed to sell beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink alcohol products in a retail store that meets certain eligibility requirements and has more than 4,000 square feet of retail floor space.
Over 4,000 convenience stores began selling alcohol in Ontario in September. Now, more than half of the convenience stores in the province have alcohol licenses.
Shoppers at the only Costco near Niagara to sell wine as of Thursday were grabbing bottles, cases and multiple bottles from a small but robust choice of wines that they were having trouble keeping shelves stocked fast enough. Ontario VQA wines are well represented at this store with Henry of Pelham, Arterra (Inniskillin), Peller (Gretzky) and Flat Rock Cellars vying for space with a smattering of international wines on the shelves. There’s lots of everything but Costco is showing from the beginning that it is curating a selection of high-volume Ontario wines nearly evenly split between well-known international brands, at least at the store I went to.
There was some confusion, however, with consumers who thought prices were well below what you would pay at the LCBO, but when they got to the checkout realized the price didn’t include the 13% HST (unlike what they are used to at the LCBO, which shows the full price on the shelves). Still, prices were mostly lower by at least a few dollars compared to the LCBO. The best deal Wines in Niagara could find was the Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne at $69.99 + $9.10 HST and a 20 cent bottle deposit for a total of $79.29. It’s $86 at the LCBO.
Most of the Ontario VQA wines (in fact, we couldn’t find any International Domestic Blends, just VQA) were cheaper at Costco by a few dollars, including Henry of Pelham Family Tree The Goat Lady Chardonnay, Henry of Pelham Baco Noir Old Vines, Wayne Gretzky Brut Sparkling (sitting right beside the Veuve), Flat Rock Cellars Pinot Noir and Wayne Gretzky Pinot Grigio 3000 mL bag in a box for $44.78 at Costco compared to $47.95 at the LCBO.
Paul Speck, president of the Niagara winery, Henry of Pelham, welcomes the emergence of big box stores into the market. He told Wines in Niagara that it is up to the retailer to decide how to price their wines. Henry of Pelham sells its wines to the LCBO and the LCBO wholesales it to other retailers such as Costco. If Costco sells it for less than the LCBO, it comes out of their margins.
Speck said his company has seen growth at the LCBO and growth at grocery stores and “we feel that will happen again at big box stores and all these new avenues open to us. For us, it’s very exciting and terrifying at the same time.”
Speck doesn’t know where at this alcohol expansion is headed, but it’s opening up “a whole bunch of new customers who are buying our products.”
Which Costco locations have grocery store liquor retail licences?
AGCO open data shows the following Costco Wholesale locations have grocery store licenses (some are not stocked with wine yet, and at least one store in Niagara just had beer on the shelves):
Store #W1105 — 100 Legend Crt., Ancaster
Store #W1128 — 130 Ritson Rd. N., Oshawa
Store #W1168 — 19 Elmira Rd. S., Guelph
Store #W1169 — 1570 Dundas St. E., Mississauga
Store #W1248 — 930 Erb St. W., Waterloo
Store #W1261 — 55 New Huntington Rd., Woodbridge
Store #W1263 — 4315 Strandherd Dr., Nepean
Store #W1265 — 625 University Ave., Orillia
Store #W1273 — 1330 South Service Rd., Stoney Creek
Store #W1316 — 42 Overlea Blvd., Toronto
Store #W1362 — 1405 Blair Towers Pl., Gloucester
Store #W1414 — 7500 Pin Oak Dr., Niagara Falls
Store #W1436 — 3 North Service Rd., St Catharines
Store #W151 — 1 Yorktech Dr., Markham|
Store #W159 — 150 Kingston Rd. E., Ajax
Store #W1591 — 100 Windfields Farm Dr. E., Oshawa
Store #W1619 — 3140 Dingman Dr., London
Store #W162 — 100 Biscayne Cres., Brampton
Store #W1655 — 2260 Islington Ave., Etobicoke
Store #W1669 — 175 Roy Blvd., Brantford
Store #W252 — 41 Mapleview Dr. E., Barrie
Store #W253 — 1225 Brant St., Burlington
Store #W257 — 1465 Kingsway, Sudbury
Store #W510 — 18182 Yonge St., East Gwillimbury
Store #W512 — 4438 King St. E., Kitchener
Store #W524 — 50 Queen Elizabeth Blvd., Etobicoke
Store #W526 — 5900 Rodeo Dr., Mississauga
Store #W530 — 693 Wonderland Rd. N., London
Store #W531 — 3180 Laird Rd., Mississauga
Store #W533 — 1015 Centennial Dr., Kingston
Store #W534 — 4411 Walker Rd., Windsor
Store #W535 — 100 Billy Bishop Way, North York
Store #W537 — 1411 Warden Ave., Scarborough
Store #W540 — 1849 Merivale Rd., Nepean
Store #W541 — 770 Silver Seven Rd., Kanata
Store #W545 — 65 Kirkham Dr., Markham
Store #W547 — 71 Colossus Dr., Woodbridge
Store #W591 — 485 The Parkway, Peterborough
Store #W592 — 35 John Birchall Rd., Richmond Hill
Store #W595 — 50 Thermos Rd., Scarborough
Store #W802 — 1900 Cyrville Rd., Gloucester
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