Agency Sales Surpass $674 million in Fiscal Year 2021
As the COVID-19 pandemic persisted for a second year, The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board continued to fulfill its 85-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.
Operational efficiencies kept the agency’s 800+ employees working and the state’s licensees and consumers supplied with spirits.
The bottom line is the operational efficiencies resulted in another record year of sales and funding generated, collected and distributed by the ABC Board.
“Our employees deserve all the credit for meeting an increased demand in FY 2021,” ABC Administrator Mac Gipson said. “We had to rethink how to receive, ship and account for the 3.6-plus million cases of product our warehouse staff handled in FY 2021. Our primary goal is ensuring the safety of our employees, licensees and customers through this pandemic.”
Some of the operational efficiencies the ABC Board put in place this past fiscal year included consolidating stores, working with suppliers to reduce out of stock product, the launch of a consumer mobile app, holding hiring events across the state and creating a monthly delivery schedule of allocated product to ABC stores.
“For example, our shipping and receiving scheduling was reworked,” Gipson said. “That allowed us to receive and ship out products in less time. Our mobile app – AL BOSS – gave customers real-time access to every store’s inventory and our bourbon fans now know when their favorite brands will arrive. Most everything we have updated has to do with maximizing efficiency.”
The result of those changes was another record year of sales and funding generated and collected by ABC and transferred to numerous state agencies, county and city governments and others.
ABC Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 gross revenues for retail, wholesale and military liquor sales was $674.4 million while FY 2020 gross revenues were $596.1 million which resulted in a retail sales increase of $78.3 million. FY 2020 compared to FY 2019 gross revenues increased $64.9 million.
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 $39.8 million. The previous yearly distribution of revenues (FY 2019 to FY 2020) increased by $28 million. Figures below represent millions of dollars.
FY 2020 FY 2021
General Fund $113.5 $133.6
Dept. of Human Resources $72.4 $82.2
Dept. of Mental Health $53.3 $60.8
Education Trust Fund $22 $23.7
Department of Revenue $19.9 $21
Cities and Counties $15.7 $15.3
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency $16.8 $16.8
Total Resources Distributed $313.6 $353.4
“The additional funding to the State of Alabama, its agencies and local and county government is a result of ABC being flexible and willing to meet the challenges brought on by COVID-19,” Gipson said.
The ABC Board also worked closely with the hospitality and restaurant industries to enact and extend policies that allowed on-premise licensees to sell alcohol to go Dec. 14, 2020 through Jan. 4, 2021.
“We remain committed to supporting our licensees,” Gipson said. “Holidays are one of the busiest times for our licensees. We responded to their concerns and know it helped increase sales for many business owners.”
Concerning sales, according to FY 2021 spirits sales, the top 10 spirits brands purchased in Alabama, with dollar amounts in millions of dollars, were:
FY 2020 FY 2021
1. Tito’s Handmade – domestic vodka $27.6 $31.8
2. Crown Royal – Canadian whisky $24.6 $28.0
3. Hennessy VS – cognac/Armagnac $33.1 $27.9
4. Jack Daniel’s 7 Black – Tennessee whiskey $20.2 $21.5
5. Crown Royal Regal Apple – Canadian whisky $15.8 $18.4
6. Smirnoff – imported vodka $16 $16.2
7. Fireball – Canadian whiskey $13.7 $15.5
8. Jose Cuervo – imported tequila $11.8 $13
9. Patrón Silver – imported tequila $9.3 $12.7
10. Jim Beam – Kentucky bourbon $11.9 $12
NOTE: FY 2020 revenues were collected from October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020, FY 2021 revenues were collected from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. Data in this release reflect unaudited gross and net revenues.
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