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Aiming for "consumer friendly" state stores in face of privatization battle

Charlie Mooney had his white notebook binder with him, complete with a revenue analysis chart.

Charlie Mooney, PLCB'S director of retail operations, inside the upgraded Fine Wine and Spirits Store in Ardmore.
Charlie Mooney, PLCB'S director of retail operations, inside the upgraded Fine Wine and Spirits Store in Ardmore.Read more( ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer )

Charlie Mooney had his white notebook binder with him, complete with a revenue analysis chart.

Mooney is not a high-flying CEO, or a bean counter from Wall Street.

He is director of retail operations at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, which runs the 604 Fine Wine and Good Spirits stores in the state.

State stores have long been despised for limited selection, high prices, and poor service.

But Mooney uses such terms as "rebranding" and "consumer-friendly" in describing the state's effort since 2010 to revamp the stores to boost sales and fend off privatization, which continues to be a goal of the GOP-run legislature.

As he spoke, he gave a tour of the redesigned store at the Ardmore Plaza Shopping Center on the Main Line. The store was clean, bright and airy.

Selling alcohol has become big business for the state. Sales for fiscal year 2014-15 (ending June 30) were $2.34 billion, up from $2.24 billion in 2013-14.

Of the 604 stores, 102 have been renovated, or moved and reopened with a new design that includes a central table for tasting, wider aisles, new tile flooring, and better lighting.

Mooney said the idea was to move more isolated stores to high-traffic areas, such as supermarkets and shopping centers.

The store in New Hope was the first to undergo a redesign in 2010. The one in Ardmore is among the biggest at 14,716 square feet, carrying 7,500 bottles. It reopened June 1 after a redesign. "The feedback has been tremendous," Mooney said.

The stores still offer the Chairman's Selection - premium wines that sell well because they offer deep discounts.

"We can do that since we buy in mass volume and can pass the savings on" to customers, said Rob Peters, one of two full-time retail wine specialists at the Ardmore store.

For example, last week a bottle of 2011 Cascina Chicco Rocche di Castelletto, Barolo from Piedmont, Italy, was selling for $29.99, down from the $60 retail price.

Pennsylvania is one of 17 states, along with two Maryland counties, that oversee the sale of alcohol. But Pennsylvania and Utah are the only two that exert full control over all alcohol sales.

Why? "To make revenue," Mooney said.

"We offer convenience and an inviting retail atmosphere. It's easier to shop."

Outside observers say privatization would likely mean more stores and more convenience.

Stephen Miskin, spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, also noted that the legislature passed a privatization bill this year that Gov. Wolf vetoed over the summer.

"They rebranded?" Miskin asked. "If that's the case, they spent public dollars that I don't think people have even noticed. It's still the gulag-state store system, and there's nothing anybody can do to change that. Some PLCB state store prices are better than in neighboring states, but most [prices] are still higher, and the selection is not as extensive, which is another reason for the state to get out of the business."

Rebranding makes alcohol more appealing and leads to more consumption and more public health problems, said Lucy Dadayan, senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y., which analyzes state spending.

"In general, sin taxes are regressive taxes and reliance on any kind - be it gambling, alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana - is not a good public policy choice, no matter how much tax revenues those industries generate," she said. "Sin taxes are not a long-term solution to budgetary problems."

Mooney responded by stressing what the liquor sales revenue pays for.

Since it was created in 1933 at the end of Prohibition, the PLCB has contributed nearly $14 billion to the state treasury, according to his chart.

For fiscal year 2013-2014, it returned $525.8 million to the state treasury. It provided nearly $25 million for enforcing liquor laws, and $2.5 million to prevent alcohol abuse.

The PLCB also returned $8.3 million in local sales tax to Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties.

The state liquor stores are leased from private landlords. The PLCB has worked with them in the redesign effort. Besides stocking the shelves, the board supplies staff for the stores.

It regulates more than 15,000 retail licensees, including restaurants, taverns and hotels, and more than 1,200 wholesale licensees.

Four new stores will open in the next six months: in King of Prussia, Chestnut Street in Center City, Glen Mills, and Doylestown.

The store in Center City is moving from its current site at 11th and Chestnut Streets to a larger space at 12th and Chestnut.

Franco Stefanatto, is a regular at the Ardmore store, where he stops weekly to stock up for La Locanda, an Italian restaurant in Newtown Square that he co-owns.

"The staff is very knowledgable here," he said during a big buy last week.

That same afternoon, customer Matthew Floyd, 48, of Havertown, who works for a software company, participated in a wine tasting session held every Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., behind the new table.

"It certainly feels nice in here," Floyd said, as he grabbed a small plastic cup filled with Cune 2009, Rioja Vina Real Crianza, made in Spain.

Store price for the bottle was $16.99.

sparmley@phillynews.com

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