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Venable Street ABC store not all that
01/10/2012 10:16 AM by John M
A Richmond BizSense look at the ABC sales in the area deflates local lore that the ABC store on Venable Street might be one of the most profitable in the state. With gross sales of $1,582,775, the location isn’t even in the top 10 the region. The Thompson Street location tops the city with $6,109,361 in sales; a store in Virginia Beach had the highest sales in the state with $9.7 million.
Far from the most profitable in the state. Way down the list, in fact.
The link below is for the ABC annual report which itemizes sales and profits for all the stores throughout the state.
Keep in mind that businesses like restaurants that sell hard spirits to the public are assigned ABC stores from which they have to make their purchases.
I’m pretty sure the Thompson St. store as well as the Virginia Beach one whose sales are mentioned are 2 such stores; the Venable St. store is not. This is one reason why Venable’s sales are so much less than than the other 2.
http://www.abc.virginia.gov/admin/annual/docs/2011ar.pdf
It would probably be higher on the list if it weren’t for all the vagrants loitering in the lot and the prison style décor inside making it so unpleasant to visit. I am glad that a more savory and pleasant to shop location opened on Main. Before, by the time I got inside the store, any desire to drink was lost by how unappealing the whole process made it.
It is above average in terms of profit margin. Low shrink rate probably explains a lot of that.
I’d honestly be surprised if the sales here were among the best in the state for two reasons:
1. Small population base, not in a location that folks would willingly travel to
2. Many folks here have alternative methods for getting f-ed up (see also 40 shop discussions, drug trade posts, etc.)
Actually, the profit margin is higher at Venable since, I’m pretty sure, the state owns the building and thus doesn’t have equivalnt overhead costs. The overwhelmingly number of stores in the state are leased sites. There might be less than 10 stores throughout the state where the buildings are state owned.
Ray, when you say profit margin, are you referring to the “Rate of Return” percentage in the far right column of the “Store Performance” analysis pages of the Annual Report?
The ABC’s 2011 Annual Report lists the state-wide average rate of return [for ABC Retail Stores] as 33.9%.
Venable Street is 35.4% compared to the Thompson Street store at 39.6%. The Richmond area average is 35.1% (includes Chesterfield and Henrico).
You’re right about the state/VA ABC owning the Venable St. building: it checks out on the City Assessor’s web page.
While the Venable Street store might be slightly more profitable than the state wide, or metro average, the latest annual report does debunk the urban myth about that location being the “most profitable” or “highest grossing” in the state.
While I may not like the store on Venable, at least now I have better/more accurate information about it.
Elaine, yes, that is the column to look at.
Keep in mind, the Venable store is a unique one in that it is a “counter” store; it’s one a the very few (low single digits?) non self-service stores in the state. Employee costs are, therefore, less here since you don’t need as much labor for functions such as shelf stocking and shelf maintenance for customers since the products are all “behind the counter.” Venable’s rate of return benefits from this factor as well as the fact the store facility itself is state owned.
By the way, I’d be surprised if Venable’s “case sales” don’t drop somewhat in the future since I suspect the new store on Main will canabalize some of their sales.
good to see reality showing its face helping to deflate race based assumptions about the drunken poor folk. now if the locals would quit knee jerk opposition to any venture not approved by the know itall types maybe the neighborhood could turn the corner…..nobodys looking to replace our homegrown winos with imported frat boys!