this was just ABLE denying their appeal and not granting their application ..
this was 100% expected .. ABLE has to follow Oklahoma Law as currently written .. and they are ..
now the "fun" begins .. and total wine can sue ABLE (and the state) in court .. to overturn the law ..
They should. Total wine is a "great"outlet for beverages . Why are Oklahoma liquor dealers "afraid" of competition. What happen to free market?
Total Wine must feel pretty confident for them to take the trouble to draw up plans for the NW Expressway location.
A lawyer explained it to me this way, based upon how these laws have been challenged in other states: ABLE must demonstrate that the prohibition is in the public interest (it preserves public safety, order, deters crime, etc.), and if not then the plaintiff (TW) will prevail. We all see this for what it is, an effort to keep out competition, which if I were a liquor retailer I’d want.
Does Oklahoma still have a law requiring all alcohol to go thru distributors and be available to anyone with a liquor license? I think I read that here, at one time. If that's the case, would any liquor store be able to choose to carry the beers that TW sells from other regions of the country? Now that I think about it, Costco and Trader Joes both carry exclusive brands, so maybe that isn't the case in Oklahoma.
Here is hoping the law gets overturned and challenged! We need competition in the free marketplace! It keeps everyone on their toes.
meh... looking at all of the liquor stores who closed after that, not one was one that i frequented. those that changed adjusted to the new market and often seem busier now than before. atleast the few around me that i frequent. when a business owner refuses to change and adjust to major changes in the market, i have no feelings about them having to close their business.
The small shops that had personnel that could actually advise and help on product selection and had broad choices can compete and have great success. This is especially true in wine shops where often people coming in to shop and have no real expertise in wine selection rely on the expertise of the store personnel. If you have a limited selection, no expertise to share, and no pricing advantage, then you are probably in trouble.
exactly... the store i go to most often, got rid of all of their wine except a particular bottle of white and a particular bottle of red, and when i asked him why, he said that almost 70% of his wine sales were from this womans book club and those were the two wines they bought by the case from him... so he just got rid of all of the rest, and expanded his inventory on other products. and has been extremely successful. he saw the change in market, did what was best for his customers, and moved on
Liquor stores like Freemans on Western will always do good business because they are so knowledgeable and helpful.
But the huge majority of our current liquor stores are small, dingy, and depressing, with someone behind the counter who doesn't want to be there. It's the equivalent of the largely horrible gas stations before OnCue and others came along and started kicking tail.
Especially in such a small-government state, I'll never understand the advocacy for protectionism. I get that car dealers and industry orgs have a lot of money to spend on lobbyists, but it baffles me when the common man wants to stifle competition.
If they are going to let Walmart and other grocery stores sell wine and alcohol, then there is really no legal basis for the state to not let Total Wine and More have a license. They pretty much have the same business model as the small liquor stores but supersized.
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