Pick Liquor Along with Grocery: Telangana Government

Hyderabad: At your next grocery shopping pick liquor too. If the plans of the Telangana government are implemented then you could be purchasing liquor too along with groceries from your nearest hypermarket.

Telangana government, as a part of its excise policy, allowed Spencer’s and Metro to open exclusive outlets to sell Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Foreign Liquor in select outlets and upmarket areas. According to sources, the Excise Department is now actively considering relaxing the present rule of allotting one outlet for each supermarket applicant, and allow one liquor corner in all the branches of the licensee hypermarket.
Enthused by the positive response to the liquor and wine corners in their sprawling premises, leading hypermarket chains are game to open such exclusive outlets in all their branches in the city on the lines of other metros.
The move, however, will not increase the overall number of liquor shops in the city. “What we propose to do is make an assessment of unsold and unviable outlets and shift them to the branches of leading retail chains,” Excise Commissioner R.V. Chandravadan said.
Retail chain giants like Spencer’s, Spar and Metro confirmed that they need licenses to operate IMFL and FL corners in all their branches in tune with the preference of their clientele for well displayed premium and all types of brands and pick and choose varieties of alcoholic beverages of their choice.
For the evolving Indian customers who made Hyderabad their home and many middle and upper middle class customers who routinely do their grocery, gourmet and other shopping in these huge retail stores offering a variety of products and services, picking up a bottle of wine, liquor is becoming a matter of choice and convenience. A source in a hypermarket said that 40 per cent of customers who visit their liquor outlets are women attracted by the ease, privacy, ambience of the premises and well laid out ensemble.