Three months ago, the NHLC hired its own mixol- ogist. While she will be working with on-premise oper- ators, the plan is also to have her participate in the spir- its tastings, by demonstrating how different cocktails are made and offering a sample taste.
The NHLC, which serves over 9 million customers
a year, has some purchasing power. It uses that power to get specially priced products to offer to its customers. Its Outlet Power Buy program offers deep discounts, of up to 70%, on quality wines. "We will not offer a wine [in this program], unless it is at a discount of at least 50% and it offers extraordinary value in the bottle," said Mollica, a restaurateur with 30 years of experience and a wine collector himself. In the 15 months that the pro- gram has been running, it has already made $5 million in profit for the NHLC, which also offers the Commission Signature Selection, which is both wines and spirits. "These tend to be higher-end products we're offering at a 20% to 30% discount," explained Mollica.
I Virtual Promotions
n this age of the Internet, the concept of "in-store" is rather flexible. The New Hampshire Liquor Commission offers customers who access its website the chance to sign up to receive exclusive coupons and
advanced notice, of, for example, the availability of an allocated wine, at its stores.
It has also signed up with a company called Ping4Deals. Ping4Deals offers a free smart-phone app that customers can set to go off, when they pass a store with products and prices they have expressed an interest in, including New Hampshire state liquor stores. The app will "ping" to alert the phone user that they are nearing such a store, can act like a GPS to get them to that store and can display product specials. "And if you're not enticed by what sales our store is currently having, the app will bring you to our website where you can see what else we offer," said Mollica. "We get significant sales from our neighboring states and from tourists. If people know the price they reg- ularly pay for their favorite brands – and most people do – then they will be impressed with our prices." What are the benefits of in-store promotions? They allow suppliers to tell people about their products, espe- cially their new products. For customers, they allow them to see and learn and, in an increasing number of states, taste things they might be interested in. And for the control states themselves? "It's the peo- ple of New Hampshire who benefit," said Mollica firm- ly. "Not only do we offer them significant savings, but all our profits go to the state's general fund."
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