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Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Releases Annual Report

11/07/2019

​Comprehensive document details agency operations and sales trends

Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) today released its Fiscal Year 2018-19 Annual Report, which details agency operations, sales trends, popular products, and financial results.
 
The annual report, in its seventh year, reviews the agency’s financials and provides insight into functions including store operations, licensing, marketing and merchandising, supply chain, wholesale operations, information technology, alcohol education, and personnel. The document is filled with statistics and descriptions intended to shed light on how the agency works and where the money it generates goes.

The annual report also showcases sales by product category, individual products, counties, e-commerce, stores, and sales periods. For example:

  • After the PLCB relocated its e-commerce center to a larger facility and added more products to its online catalog, the number of orders placed each day on FineWineAndGoodSpirits.com increased 86%.
  • In 2018-19, the PLCB tripled the number of spirits items it carried in cans and grew its wine can offerings by 119%, resulting in a 63% increase in wine and spirits can sales from fiscal year 2017-18 to 2018-19, and a 60% increase in unit sales.
  • A total of 54 counties had unflavored vodka as their top spirits category. American whiskey followed with 12 counties. Canadian whisky was the top category in Greene County.
  • The top three counties — Allegheny, Philadelphia and Montgomery — accounted for more than 35% of statewide sales.

Highlights of the 2018-19 Annual Report include:

  • A one-page summary showing distribution of PLCB funds to various recipients. For example, more than $769.9 million was returned to the Pennsylvania General Fund and state and local government beneficiaries in fiscal year 2018-19.
  • A summary of store operations, including store renovation efforts and celebrity events.
  • Information on permits issued and sales to holders of wine expanded permits, which authorize the sale of wine to go by private retailers.
  • A breakdown of the 79,000 license and permit applications processed and more than 8,000 investigations completed, as well as a breakout of licenses by county.
  • A summary of alcohol education efforts to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking, including the agency’s award-winning Know When. Know How.SM campaign.
  • Sales information and trends by product and category, including top-selling spirits and wines by county.
  • Store-by-store sales and an expanded section on sales of Pennsylvania-made wines and spirits.
  • A list of recipients of more than $1.8 million in grants that support Pennsylvania’s wine and beer industries.

To save on costs, a limited number of copies of the report is printed. This report is available at lcb.pa.gov.

The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates more than 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits – totaling nearly $18.5 billion since the agency’s inception – are returned to Pennsylvania’s General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania’s schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit lcb.pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACT: Shawn M. Kelly, 717.783.8864

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