Société des alcools du Québec

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Société des alcools du Québec

Type	Crown corporation
Founded	1921
Headquarters	Montreal, Québec
Key people	Sylvain Toutant, President & CEO
Industry	Retail (Department & Discount)
Products	Liquor sales to both to consumers and to businesses
Revenue	2.4 billion CDN (2005)
Employees	3800, as of 2005
Slogan	none
Website	SAQ site (webstore)

SAQ Express branches sell only the most popular products and are located on major commercial arteries in large cities such as pictured here in Montréal.

The Société des alcools du Québec (French for Quebec Alcohols Corporation), often abbreviated and referred to as SAQ, is a provincial government-owned corporation in the Province of Quebec.

1 Organization
- 1.1 Banners
2 Alcohol consumption in Québec
- 2.1 Legal purchase age
3 Holiday-season strike of 2004
4 Price-fixing scandal
5 Notes
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Organization

The SAQ enjoys a monopoly over distribution of alcoholic beverages in Quebec. It acts as a wholesaler for wine and other low-alcohol-content beverages, which can be sold outside SAQ branches, usually in dépanneurs and grocery stores. Spirits and apéritifs can only be sold in SAQ stores.

The Act respecting the Société des alcools du Québec (R.S.Q. S-13)^[1] is the official piece of legislation governing the SAQ's operations and management. The sole share-holder is the provincial Ministry of Finance to which approximately 500 million CAD in dividends are distributed each year.

The Société des alcools du Québec headquarters is located in Montreal and had sales of $2.4 billion in 2005.

[edit] Banners

The SAQ operates under five different banners throughout the province of Québec:

SAQ Classique: varied selection, in towns and villages where there is only one SAQ branch
SAQ Express: top-selling products, in large urban centres, extended business hours
SAQ Sélection: extended selection, professional service and counselling
SAQ Signature: two exclusive stores in Montréal and Québec City
SAQ Dépôt: warehouse-style stores, bottle-it-yourself, wholesale packages

The Corporation also distributes its products through a webstore. A selection of wines and low-alcoholic-content beverages are also available in supermarkets.

[edit] Alcohol consumption in Québec

For more details on this topic, see Alcoholic beverages in Canada.

As the provider of alcohol in Québec, the SAQ's market data gives a quick overview of alcohol consumption in the province. In its 2005 annual report^[2], the Corporation confirms 66.3% of sales were table wines. The remainder is shared among various products: 15.7% were spirits, 8.9% refreshing beverages (such as coolers and sangría), 5.4% special occasion beverages (includes champagne, rosé wine and Port) and 2.9% apéritifs (such as vermouth and Pastis). Note that beer does not appear within this data as most beer sales are outside the SAQ's monopoly.

The report also includes Statistics Canada data comparing alcohol consumption in Canada. Québec falls in second place in both wine (17.4 litres per person per year) and beer (93.9 litres) consumption, behind the Yukon territory. On the flip side, Québec is last (12th) in spirits consumption (with 4.1 liters on average).

[edit] Legal purchase age

There is no legal drinking age in Québec, only restrictions as to who can purchase alcoholic beverages (R.S.Q. I-8.1)^[3]. The legal age for the purchase of alcoholic beverages is 18 years. By law, SAQ stores cannot sell alcohol to minors or adults intent on distributing to minors (including the holders of parental authority). Nonetheless, underage persons are not restricted from SAQ stores. Official policy is to ask for photo identification to any customer who looks under 25.

[edit] Holiday-season strike of 2004

On 19 November 2004, the Corporation's 3800 employees went on strike^[4]. They were protesting because their contract had expired two years prior and negotiations on its renewal weren't making any progress. Trade unions were concerned by the work schedules, the status of part-time and temporary employees and the spectre of privatization.

In the first month or so the strike went mostly unnoticed but as the Holiday season kept approaching, many Quebecers wished the unions would strike a deal with SAQ executives. In fact they did not and the strike went on until 11 February 2005. On that day SAQ stores reopened their doors after the employees voted in favour of the union-negotiated deal. The new contract included pay increases and the creation of 250 new full-time posts^[5].

[edit] Price-fixing scandal

In January 2006, SAQ President & CEO Sylvain Toutant admitted the corporation had asked European suppliers to increase their prices in order to avoid a drop in revenues^[6]. This was concomitant with the falling value of the Euro in relation to the Canadian dollar. A drop in wholesale prices would have mandated lower retail prices. Both vice-presidents involved in the affair left the SAQ soon thereafter. The scandal ensued public outcry and renewed calls for the privatization of the crown corporation. The Minister of Finance, Michel Audet, rejected calls for privatization but agreed to launch an investigation into the SAQ's commercial practices and the behaviour of its board members.