Liquor sales go up 5%, courtesy World Cup
HYDERABAD: Liquor sales took a leap in Hyderabad over the past two weeks, thanks to the ICC World Cup, the 'baap' of all cricket tournaments. The wine shop dealers and bar owners were smiling all the way to the cash boxes. While the total sale of all liquor brands have gone up by five per cent, the officials said that the sale of beer has been hovering around 10-15 per cent over the past two weeks when compared to normal days.
Beer clearly saw maximum takers, though whiskey and white spirits took second and third places respectively. On an average, about 15-20 cartels (comprising 12 bottles) of beer were sold through each wine shop on normal days. But during the matches, about 35-50 cartels were sold at most of the wine shops across Hyderabad.
The sales were equally good in the bars and pubs which put up large screens/televisions to entertain their guests. The sales were 15-20 per cent more on March 30 when India beat Pakistan in semi-finals.
Notwithstanding the result of the match, tipplers preferred to purchase several cartels of beer in advance on Saturday evening.
'The big match (against Pakistan) was over on Wednesday itself but we could not celebrate on that day as we had to attend office work on the next day. We are in a mood to guzzle down a couple of beers notwithstanding the result of the match and catch up with friends for the weekend,' said G Kishan, a techie.
In the recent study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Hyderabad has been placed among the top 10 cities which had huge liquor sales during the World Cup.
Though the officials of prohibition and excise department would arrive at the exact sale statistics during next week, they admitted that the overall liquor sales have definitely gone up by five per cent and the beer sales are about 10 per cent high during the World Cup.
'In summer, the beer sales normally go up. But the sales were a little higher due to the World Cup matches as people arranged private parties to catch up with family and friends over the match at pubs/bars or at home,' said a senior official in the department. Going by the trend and seeing the record sales when men in blue are playing, the officials expect tremendous liquor sales for the weekend.
News Posted: 4 April, 2011
|
