Distilled Spirits Council renewed its call for legislators to greatly expand the number of outlets permitted to sell spirits in Pennsylvania following the promise of future liquor reforms contained within the budget passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
“Pennsylvanians are witnessing the shortcomings of Act 39, with flexible pricing resulting in PLCB price hikes and wine-only grocery store sales losing money for the state,” said Distilled Spirits Council Vice President of State Government Relations David Wojnar. “Money is being left on the table by not having enough spirits retail stores to serve Pennsylvania consumers.
“Expanding spirits outlets will go a long way to allow Pennsylvania to compete with surrounding states on spirits sales, provide consumers with greater convenience, and most importantly right now, help in closing the state budget gap,” Wojnar concluded.
Pennsylvania is currently considered critically underserved in spirits retail, as the state has 0.67 spirits outlets per 10,000 population, versus a national average of 3.80 spirits outlets per 10,000 population. According to an economic analysis by the Council, adding 900 spirits outlets would net the state $100 million in potential additional revenue.