Total Wine & More, the wine, beer and spirits retailer that filed a lawsuit last week challenging Connecticut”™s alcohol pricing rules, is under investigation by the Department of Consumer Protection for allegedly selling its wares for prices less than those allowed by the state.
The chain, which operates a location in Norwalk, ran a series of ads in newspapers touting how its prices were lower than the state”™s “mandated price” on Aug. 23, the same day it filed suit in U.S. District Court in Connecticut.
At issue is the state”™s mandatory minimum pricing statute, designed to protect independent alcohol retailers from larger chains who buy and sell their inventory in bulk and thus can undercut the independents”™ prices.
Total Wine”™s lawsuit asserts that the statute results in prices that “may be in excess of 25 percent higher than prices offered for identical products in surrounding states,” and that “The price-fixing by wholesalers and retailers constitutes restraint of trade and a violation of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act.”
This entire dialog is very interesting to me. While not an expert in wine prices, I routinely purchase wine Connecticut, NY State, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
As regards wine, I have never found one state to have a profoundly lower price than another. Perhaps you can publish a more detailed overview comparing a few specific brands across several states in the Northeast.
They always fail to mention that the largest price differential between states is the amount of taxes charged. (ex: Mass does not tax alcohol )