Two New Liquor Mart Express Stores Open
More Planned to Modernize, Enhance Customer Service
Manitobans now have two new Liquor Mart Express locations where they can purchase liquor along with their groceries. The Express location in the Jefferson and McPhillips Safeway opened to customers on June 19, 2015 and the Reenders Sobeys location is set to open on June 29, 2015. Due to the success of the existing Liquor Mart Express locations, additional stores will soon be opening in the province.
“Since the first one opened in 2011, Manitobans have welcomed the new Liquor Mart Express stores with open arms,” said Ron Lemieux, Minister responsible for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries. “Manitobans clearly appreciate the convenience and quality service offered by the Express stores, which is why we’re pleased to open two more stores for summer and another Express store this fall. Moving forward, we will see more as Liquor & Lotteries makes Express stores a key tool to modernize and improve convenience for their customers.”
In a recent survey of Express shoppers, an average of nine out of ten shoppers felt that their Express location was convenient. In the same survey, three quarters of respondents indicated that their Express location was meeting all their shopping needs.
The Liquor Mart Express stores at 920 Jefferson Avenue and at #7 Reenders Drive are the seventh and eighth Liquor Mart Express locations in the province, six of which are located in grocery stores. One additional Express location will be coming later this fall to the Superstore located at 215 St. Anne’s Road in the south end of Winnipeg.
“As part of our company’s overall effort to provide shoppers with more options and greater convenience, we are pleased to welcome the addition of a Liquor Mart Express to our Jefferson and McPhillips Safeway and shortly, our Sobeys Reenders location," said Brent Newman, Vice President, Operations, Community and Liquor, Sobeys West. "As we've experienced in a number of other communities, our customers see a natural pairing of wines, beer and spirits as part of the food shopping experience, and we are pleased to partner with Liquor Mart Express to help make that happen.”
Moving forward, additional Liquor Mart Express stores will be developed that will include both store-within-a-store and stand-alone locations, in both urban and rural locations and will allow for more flexible options that will look beyond just grocery stores for other suitable Express store partners. It is anticipated that at least three more Express stores will open in 2016 and two additional locations in 2017.
This initiative supplements Manitoba’s current liquor retail mix with the primary goal of providing better convenience and customer service. The establishment of more Liquor Mart Express locations will carefully consider the liquor retail options already available in a community and ensure that establishing an Express store complements existing retail options.
Both the Jefferson Safeway Liquor Mart Express and the Reenders Sobeys Liquor Mart Express will be open Monday to Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.; and on Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The addition of Liquor Mart Express stores to Manitoba’s mix of public and private retailers was launched as a pilot project as part of the provincial government’s 2011 Hospitality Strategy.
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Download a copy of the news release PDF for a photo of the new Jefferson Liquor Mart Express.