There’s good news for those who enjoy a drink or two: Liquor sales look set to continue through the coronavirus shutdown.
While Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made it clear on Monday that supermarkets will remain open along with other essential services, she was not clear about liquor stores.
However, West Auckland’s The Trusts said it would have stores open for trading, and there was no need to panic buy.
The Trusts controls liquor sales outside of supermarkets in the area, and its stores have seen long queues outside on Monday and Tuesday.
The organisation has shut nearly half of its 23 West Auckland stores, while the remainder will stay open until Thursday with trading restrictions, allowing only three people in the store at one time.
From Thursday on, customers will need to phone or email their orders, before going to the store to show their identification and pick up their goods outside the store, acting chief executive Matt Williams said.
He encouraged customers to not panic or stock up on liquor and to keep 2m distances between other customers while waiting to be served.
The latest information about opening hours would be available on The Trusts’ website, Williams said.
From Thursday on, customers will need to phone or email their orders, before going to the store to show their identification and pick up their goods outside the store, acting chief executive Matt Williams said.
“We absolutely – as a lot of people in New Zealand do – consider alcohol as essential,” she said
“But stress drinking is not advised: Don’t use alcohol to manage stress,” she said.
The Invercargill Licensing Trust, who will also keep its six bottle stores open, experienced unprecedented sales from its bottle stores on Monday, the general manager has suggested.
Chris Ramsay said sales at its bottle stores on Monday, after the announcement of the impending country-wide lockdown, were huge. The stores were chaotic, he said.
“There was a lot of … panic buying going on.”
Initial indications were it was the trust’s biggest ever day of sales from its bottle stores, Ramsay said.
Ironically, the panic buying was not needed as the trust was told later in the afternoon that its bottle stores could remain open during the lockdown.
This information, when known, was passed onto customers, Ramsay said.
Meanwhile, the alcohol industry is calling for calm despite the uncertainty, after one store reported an 1800 per cent increase in sales on Monday.
A rush on product will not help anyone, New Zealand Alcohol Beverages Council executive director Bridget MacDonald said.
The council is in discussion with the Government about whether bottle stores will stay open, and the status of online sales and home delivery.
The council’s preference is for liquor stores to remain open, to ease pressure on supermarkets and prevent black-market trading on spirits, MacDonald said.Other liquor stores around the country were awaiting more information about whether they would be allowed to stay open.
Thirsty Liquor managing director Tina Govan said on Tuesday morning the advice was not clear.
“We’re waiting for more clarification from the Government.”
Liquor Centre Group operations director Andre Senaratne also said he was waiting clarification, with different messages coming from politicians.
The Government’s advice is fast-moving consumer goods businesses are essential: “Any entity involved in the supply, delivery, distribution and sale of food, beverage and other key consumer goods essential for maintaining the wellbeing of people, but not takeaway shops.”
Lead agency, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, has not responded to the question.
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