Dec 8, 2008 9:51 pm US/Eastern
Booze Business Booming As Economy Sinks
More People May Be Saving Money By Drinking At Home
(CBS)
With the economy seemingly at rock bottom, more people are saying bottoms up. As CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago's Vince Gerasole reports, the booze business is booming.
With the economy as flat as a day-old beer, it seems not as many folks are bellying up to the bar.
"Friday and Saturday nights aren't as hot as they used to be," said Dustin Williams of Rogers Park. "Most friends are staying in and friends who are going out focus on places that have special deals."
But at Binny's Beverage Depot, from the cases of beer in the coolers to the wines and spirits on the shelves, sales just this past month are up more than 14 percent – exceptional even at holiday time.
"We're pretty confident that the sales were going to increase because the liquor business in general suffers less in poor economies," said Brett Pontoni of Binny's.
The sales bump isn't necessarily proof consumers are drowning their economic sorrows. They just may be saving money by drinking at home.
The trend holds up nationally, too.
A whole bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey sells for $32. A similar amount of Finlandia vodka is $28. When the makers of these spirits added up the sales gains from this year's second quarter, they registered an 11 percent rise in profits.
One shot from a $32 bottle of whiskey costs a little less than $2. One shot in a bar or restaurant can be upwards of $4. Still the jury may be out on whether people are drinking more, or just drinking more often at home.
Jonathan Fox of La Madia restaurant in Chicago said his diners are spending more in these tough times by ordering just a bit more wine.
"As a percentage it's about 2 to 4 percentage points but in sales that's pretty significant, it's thousands of dollars," Fox said.
Those are trends to pore over as we contemplate the economy.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Stumble It!
Comments