It is well known in commerce that the
merchandise of alcohol is very strictly regulated by the relevant authorities.
One reason for this is to be able to control in some way the quantities of
alcohol that is being distributed, and additionally, to avoid the selling of
alcoholic beverages to minors. The requirements that the state imposes so as to
grant a business the permission of selling alcohol are related to specific
details such as the place and the time where alcoholic beverages shall be
consumed. Consequently, the United States limits the consumption of alcohol to
minors below the age of 21 and does not permit the production of distilled
spirits intended for personal consumption.
Furthermore, there are clear limitations on the alcohol
that is merchandised by grocery stores. The fact is that the regulations differ
from state to state and some counties are even given the possibility of
modifying certain rules as they desire, but only to a limited extent. For
instance, in the state of Florida spirits can be purchased from retail stores,
but the containers should not be larger than 1 gallon. In addition to this,
anyone who desires to purchase beer or wine is free to do so from supermarkets
and other businesses that are given permission to commercialize low-alcohol
spirits. Up to the present moment, people couldn’t purchase alcoholic beverages
from retail stores and grocery stores, but a bill that was recently adopted may
change the situation. The Florida House panel has recently adopted a bill that
will empower retailers such as Wal-Mart to sell liquor. The reason for this is
to increase the sales in craft beer. Not many are aware of the fact that state
regulations stipulate that liquor has to be sold only in specialized stores and
thus be separated from the rest of the grocery store. It is only natural that
much opposition has arisen after the passing of this law.
The first to publicly manifest their disapproval
was the sheriff of Duval County that argued the fact that this will have
serious repercussions visible in the increase of underage drinking. He voiced
the concern that making alcoholic beverages more available to the public does
not necessarily represent the removal of a so-called barrier between
businesses. Moreover, grocery chains such as Publix disagreed with the
resolution taken owing to the fact that it affects the infrastructure that the
grocery store has developed especially for the sale of alcoholic beverages. While
many are of the opinion that this law will only be beneficial to the running of
the business, the truth is that for smaller stores the removal of this wall
will actually be more expensive owing to the fact that the liquor licenses
costs thousands of dollars that will automatically go down the drain, not to
mention the investments made in infrastructure. Additionally, many store owners
and employees alike do not have the necessary knowledge of alcohol in order to
know how to sell it. Despite all these arguments the bill passed with a 9 to 4
vote.
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