State alcohol monopoly sees sales dip – even for non-alcoholic beverages

Alko reported a 2.4 percent decline in September sales, with the sharpest drop in alcohol-free drinks and the steepest rise in rosé wines.

Person in a yellow coat looks at a shop with a sign saying Espoonlahti Alko.
State-owned Alko shops have a monopoly on retail sales of drinks with an alcohol content over 5.5%. Image: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle
  • Yle News

Finnish state alcohol monopoly Alko's per litre sales declined by 2.4 percent in September compared to a year earlier. Red wine sales decreased by more than five percent while those of rosé wines rose by seven percent.

Overall, wine sales were down by 1.3 percent, while spirits sales dipped by 4.6 percent. Beer and other brewed products slipped by 2.4 percent, and sales of alcohol-free drinks, which had been growing in recent years, sank by 8.6 percent.

Sales of white wines edged up by 2.1 percent and rosé wines – which usually sell more during the summer – were up by seven percent. Sales of sparkling wines were also down slightly and red wines by 5.3 percent.

“It’s a bit of a surprise that red wine sales decreased slightly in September, while rosé wine sales increased. Sales of French rosé wines increased by more than twelve percent compared to September 2022," service and product specialist Anri Lindström said in an Alko press release.

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