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Growing wine market:
Chandigarh is a Union Territory that is allowed
by Article 47 of the
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| This store actually sold the highest- about 1000,
cases of wine last year |
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constitution to set its
own wine marketing policy, like other UTs and States.
Four years ago it was considered a backward wine city.
But the pro active policies of the progressive excise
commissioners with a vision, and the local government
has made the city reach an annual sales of 5000 cases,
a jump of over 500% during the last four years , according
to locals.
The imported wine which was sold in insignificant amounts
in a couple of hotels then has almost 50% of share of
the total sales today.
One major factor of growth is the NRI links of the
city. About 40% residents have relatives who are NRIs.
Not only is there this floating population who likes
to drink wine, they also like to invest in ventures
like wine and liquor marketing, especially since the
licensing has become very liberal during the last couple
of years.
Progressive sales, tax and excise policy:
The change can be attributed to the progressive policies
of Chandigarh which has consciously moved from a policy
of auctions and liquor cartelisation to freedom in getting
the license; a policy that encourages consumption of
lower alcohol beer and wines by keeping the excise duties
and VAT extremely low.
The VAT of 4% is the lowest in the country and understandably
the model policy is being passed on to other states
so they can also rationalise their policies.
Retail Licensing :
L-2 License: For shops interested
in retailing with Indian and imported liquor, there
is a fixed
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| Wine bottles may be tired standing but are displayed tasteful and in right SPIRIT |
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annual License Fee of Rs. 25 lakhs (reduced from the
earlier Rs.40 lakhs) payable in advance. There is a
procedure and conditions laid down clearly by the administration
are to be followed.
Naming the store as ‘Wine Shop’ is passé.
Spirits, World of Whiskey, Cheers, Tycoon are some of
the nouveau names of the shops which the private stores
have evolved whereas the traditional stores like Empire
Stores (they upgraded the earlier supermarket license
this year) are chugging along with their traditional
name.
Tavern (Ahata) License: L-2
license holders can get another license known as Ahata;
(name changed to the more modern ‘Tavern’
this year) for an additional Rs. 1.0 lakh. Wine etc.,
purchased in the shop can be consumed in this Tavern
without paying any extra amount. Limited snacks have
to be offered at reasonable prices to the customer.
The design, colour schemes etc have to be as per the
specifications provided. So, one does not have to go
to expensive restaurants to consume alcoholic beverages.
I was told that even women frequent some of them in
groups, where they can have their favourite tipple.
Chandigarh which encompasses the area within a small
radius of 12 kms. has about 150 shops with L-2 license
, 110 of which have the tavern license also. About 30-40
of the total licensees stock imported wines, making
the availability fairly easy.
License for Supermarkets: (L-10B)
Supermarkets and stores who sell only imported wine,
beer or liquor can pay an annual fees of Rs. 50,000.
They have to pay a nominal amount extra for each bottle
purchased. Currently, five stores have this license-
MG, Punjab Stores, Budhraja Stores and Peshawar Store(2).
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| Wine Cellar of Empire Store- Too
much light but a good start, nevertheless |
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Prices: The prices of imported wines
are cheapest you can find anywhere in India. Reason,
the excise and vend fees are very low. For L-2 license
holders it is less than Rs.10 a bottle (in Delhi it
is Rs. 150 for the same bottle. For supermarkets that
sell imported liquor and wine, an additional duty is
chargeable at Rs.144 per case, payable by the buyer.
There is an import fee of Rs.4 per bulk liter for the
producer which is built in the costing per bottle.
The prices are not fixed and there is no MRP for any
wine. There is a lot of variation in prices and discounts
can be availed, if the quantities are big. Prices on
imported wines are much better than in Delhi. Tarapaca
Chardonnay (625), Hardys (625), Ruffino Chianti (925)
are relatively very good price, especially if you know
that 15% discount is available from Spirits on a case
(the owner told me for 5 cases he would give 20%-no
wonder he sold 1000 cases of wine last year!)
Many importers are now planning to enter the market.
Says Sanjeev Singh, MD of TT and G, importer of Torres,
whom I met in one of the shops, ‘We decided not
to enter the Delhi market. But we can compete very well
even with Indian wines in this market and are entering
soon.
Paradoxically, Indian wines are too expensive. Dindori
which sells for Rs.700 (till a couple of months ago
selling for Rs.550/600) sells for Rs.860 in Chandigarh.
‘Grover’s lower end Sante sells for Rs.435
while the comparable Madera from Sula sells for Rs.
290.
The customer needs to know the comparative prices of
various wines and negotiate when he can, if the quantities
are bigger.
Wine Storage: One has heard a lot
about the excellent storage and display of wines in
Chandigarh. Raman Nijhawan, the Area manager of Sula
for North, who had offered to take me around town even
insisted the storage was better than in Delhi.
If one were to compare the overall scenario, I would
definitely agree. All the shops and super markets I
visited were air-conditioned, unlike the majority in
Delhi and Mumbai.
But the best of them had something lacking-nothing
they cannot work on. Some stores had poor or insufficient
air conditioning while others had much too strong lighting
shining on the bottles. Some did have no prices mentioned
on the bottles while others had fine champagne like
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin rolling between Deinhard Sekt
(low end German bubbly).
Four years ago when I had been invited by the industrial
Yasho Saboo who was opening a new luxury watch store,
Ethos in Chandigarh, I was impressed by the guests who
showed keen interest in drinking and learning about
wine. The then excise commissioner who had also been
a guest assured me that the coming policy would be quite
progressive.
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| Well stored, good display but very expensively priced Indian wines |
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Brand registration charges did come down from April
that year and every year has been better. At present,
registration charges are Rs.5000+1000 per label, immaterial
how much quantity is sold during the year following.
It is a policy that could be emulated by other states
to encourage availability and cheaper prices for softer
alcoholic beverages, especially wine which has additional
advantage of being healthy when drunk in moderation.
Chandigarh has the location advantage of being a gateway
to Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and perhaps
meets some requirements of these regions thus escalating
sale of wine in the city.
Recommended stores:
Spirit: If you have bigger requirements, you
can get 15-20% discounts.
Empire Stores: Best stored wine
Avoid buying Indian wines unless you are on
a budget and want lower end wines. Better values are
available in imported wines. Shop for Indian wines in
Delhi. Check legality of bringing them back. You need
to sleep your wines for a few days after they travel.
For detailed text of the Excise policy visit www.chandigarh.gov.in
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