Agency Sales Surpass $596 million in Fiscal Year 2020
BY DANIEL DYE
ABC BOARD PUBLIC RELATIONS
PHOTOS FROM ABC STAFF
Faced with challenges during a global pandemic, The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board continued to fulfill its 84-year mission to protect and support the public’s health, safety, and welfare by regulating the distribution, import, manufacture, delivery and sale of alcoholic beverages
In a year underscored by uncertainty, operational efficiencies kept the state agency’s 800+ employees working. The result was a record year for sales and funding collected by ABC that are used to fund numerous state agencies, county and city governments and others.
“From day one of this pandemic, our main concern is the health and safety of our customers and employees,” ABC Administrator Mac Gipson said. “We have continued to follow state recommendations as it relates to providing our employees and customers a safe environment in which to work and shop. I am proud of our family of nearly 900 employees who continue to find ways to ensure ABC operates in an efficient manner that serves the customer and reduces expenses.”
ABC Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 gross revenues for retail, wholesale and military liquor sales was $596.1 million while FY 2019 gross revenues were $531.2 million which resulted in a retail sales increase of $64.9 million.
Despite ABC temporarily closing 78 retail stores last March and reassigning those employees to open stores, to seeing its warehouse staffing shrink 27% as the pandemic continued from summer to fall, the agency shipped 3,304,241 cases of liquor in FY 2020. In FY 2019, ABC shipped 332,022 fewer cases while the agency operated at full capacity.
The additional revenue from increased alcoholic beverage sales in the state of Alabama also added millions more dollars to the state’s General Fund, state agencies, local and county governments and more. The distribution of revenues below reflects an increase of $28 million. Figures below represent millions of dollars.
The First amount is from FY 2019, the Second from FY 2020
General Fund $101.1 – $113.5
Dept. of Human Resources $ 65.7 -$72.4
Dept. of Mental Health $ 47.3 – $53.3
Education Trust Fund $ 22.4 – $22
Department of Revenue $ 18.4 – $19.9
Cities and Counties $ 14.1 – $15.7
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency $ 16.8 – $16.8
Total Resources Distributed $285.8 in 2019; $313.6 in 2020
“Revenues generated through ABC activities are used to fund state and local governments,” Gipson said. “Through this pandemic our employees have done yeoman’s work with less resources. It is their dedication to ABC that is reflected in these increased financials.”
The ABC Board also worked diligently with the business community, hospitality industry and licensees to enact policies that helped them remain open and viable during the pandemic. On two occasions the board unanimously authorized its on-premise licensees to sell alcohol for curbside pick-up.
“We remain committed to supporting our licensees,” Gipson said. “We’ve heard from many restaurant owners who said allowing for alcohol sales at curbside kept their businesses afloat during this crisis. We will continue to work with them and do everything we can to ease the pressures they are facing during this challenging time.”
According to FY 2020 sales, the top 10 spirits brands purchased in Alabama, with dollar amounts in millions of dollars, were:
The first number is from 2019, the second from 2020
1. Hennessy VS – cognac/Armagnac $22.5 – $33.1
2. Tito’s Handmade – domestic vodka $22.3 – $27.6
3. Crown Royal – Canadian whisky $23 – $24.6
4. Jack Daniel’s 7 Black – Tennessee whiskey $18.7 – $20.2
5. Smirnoff – imported vodka $16 – $16
6. Crown Royal Regal Apple – Canadian whisky $12.4 – $15.8
7. Fireball – Canadian whiskey $12.8 – $13.7
8. Jim Beam – Kentucky bourbon $10.9 – $11.9
9. Jose Cuervo – imported tequila $8.9 – $11.8
10. Aristocrat – domestic vodka $10.8 – $10.7
FY 2020 revenues were collected from October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020, FY 2019 revenues were collected from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019.
Data in this release reflect unaudited gross and net revenues.
