Howard Greninger
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — Beer and wine may soon hit the shelves at Walgreens in Vigo County as early as May, the first time alcohol would be available at the pharmacy stores in the county.
Nationwide, Walgreens stores have been without alcoholic beverages for more than a decade, but the company is placing beer and wine back on its shelves amid competition with CVS Caremark Corp.
The Vigo County Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Monday approved pharmacy permits for the three Walgreens stores. The permits, which must gain final approval by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission next month, allow the sale of beer, wine and liquor; however, a company spokesman said liquor will not be sold. In 1990, Walgreens ranked as the nation’s largest liquor outlet, with combined beverage sales of more than $800 million, according to Drug Store News. Those sales accounted for about 12 percent of the company’s revenues.
The company dropped alcohol sales in the 1990s, citing operational inefficiencies, said Robert Elfinger, Walgreens spokesman at the company’s headquarters in Deerfield, Ill.
“Management [in the 1990s] felt the [beer and wine] sections were cumbersome to staff and were time-consuming for store managers to maintain. The new limited beer and wine section will be much more efficient to operate, as product merchandising and management have changed a lot [since the 1990s].
“Today, it is much more automated and more centrally managed, which means less work for managers and staff,” Elfinger said. For example, cash registers can be programmed at the corporate level to lock out sales, such as on Sundays in Indiana, to meet all state and municipal alcohol sales requirements.
The cash registers will also prompt store clerks to card everyone who looks younger than 40, Elfinger said.
Walgreens first entered the Terre Haute market in 1996, adding stores in 2004 and 2007, county property records show. The company has stores in Vigo County on Wabash Avenue, Lafayette Avenue and in the 3600 block of South U.S. Highway 41.
Shelf space for beer and wine will be displayed on about 21 feet of shelving, accounting for about 2 percent of shelf space capacity in each store. Alcohol sales are expected to constitute less than 5 percent of overall sales, Elfinger said.
“We are responding to customer demand. Our customers want more of a one-stop shopping experience where they can buy a range of products at one location, instead of paying at a variety of stores,” Elfinger said.
Lisa McKinney Goldner, attorney for Walgreens before the Vigo County commission, said about 50 permits have been issued statewide, with about 180 permits being sought in Indiana. Elfinger said Walgreens now has about 2,500 of its more than 7,100 stores selling alcohol since the company began the sales last summer.
Mike Lundborg, manager at Walgreens’ store on South U.S. 41, told the Vigo County commission that employees must be 21 to sell alcohol and that the store requires dates of birth to be entered into its computer system. Brian Stewart, Indiana excise police officer, asked what the company would do if a false birth date, say 10-10-10, is entered into the system.
Lundborg said all stores have extensive camera systems that can be checked and the system could be reviewed for such problems. McKinney said the cash register would record transactions that would be available to excise police.
“The company has a zero-tolerance policy,” McKinney said, stating that if a clerk is “lazy and not looking at an ID … then you will be terminated.”
Lundborg said employees would also receive some training on selling alcohol.
While no remonstrances were filed in Vigo County, Walgreens has faced some opposition to the permits.
The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers in January sought a temporary restraining order to delay the permits, filing a lawsuit in Marion Superior Court seeking to clarify state quota laws on beer permits. However, the group’s restraining order was denied. The association is appealing that ruling.
“If the appeals court does not issue a temporary restraining order, we will have to make a decision if we will go forward [with the lawsuit] or not,” said John Livengood, president and chief executive officer of the association. No court date has been set, Livengood added.
<i>Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com</i>
