Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics Sept-Oct 2011

Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.

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Actively involved in beverage alcohol industry issues and community efforts, Chuck Ferrar, of Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits, Annapolis, MD, also just happens to own one of the top retail stores in the state. By Gerry Khermouch T alk about doing well by doing good. For Chuck Ferrar, founder of Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits in Annapolis, MD, part of the responsibility of operating a wine and liquor store has included an active involvement in supporting the alcohol retail industry, at the local, state and national levels. Just this July, he took a spot as head of the biggest national organization, the American Beverage Licensees (ABL). In the public realm he has helped broaden sampling rules, open the door to online sales and beat back what might have been an onerous rise in state alcohol taxes during the past, highly contentious legislative session in the state capital. So much for doing good by the industry that has been good to him. Then there's the doing well part. As an agile operator, Ferrar has often been the first in his trading area to exploit those hard-won gains, garnering an edge over stodgier competitors and building Bay Ridge into a formidable competitor. Throw in a blowout twice-a-year Dollar Sale that rates as a major local event (see sidebar), and you have a retailer with a highly distinctive profile. Even so, the space the store occupies readily reveals its roots as a former supermarket, with a big, barn-like space with lemon-yellow walls. The store offers wide aisles, bright lighting and the airy feel that comes of banning ceiling danglers and other clutter from the store. Manufacturers' reps are discouraged from pasting up their point-of-sale materials and the small portion of shelf talkers deemed actually helpful to shoppers usually are regenerated through Bay Ridge's own graphics system so they are more in synch with the overall store look. Lines of vision are kept clear to all corners of the store. C The Store Layout onsumers entering through the main entrance find wine toward the left, spirits to the right. The wine section encompasses nearly 50% of overall floor space and accounts for a bit more than half of overall sales. Through an interior door to the left is the gift area, stocked with wine glasses, cocktail napkins, even pendants displayed draped over the necks of wine bottles. The store maintains a cigar humidor and 16 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • September/October 2011 PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM KITTNER

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