In 2023, the provincial government announced the modernization of the marketplace to create more convenience and choice for consumers. In addition to more retailers selling alcohol, it was announced that LCBO will become the exclusive wholesaler for all retail, bars and restaurants selling alcohol, and a new ‘cost-plus’ wholesale pricing would be developed that was consistent for all retailers.
At the same time, LCBO has embarked on a multi-year program called Future State Modernization (FSM) that will strengthen our IT systems, and streamline our business processes, improving our operations for our company and our stakeholders.
FSM is a critical enabler of marketplace modernization, and both will result in changes for hospitality licensees starting April 1.
LCBO is now the exclusive wholesaler of record
LCBO is now the wholesaler of record, which means that hospitality licensees must purchase alcohol from the LCBO or through a distributor that is authorized to facilitate sales on LCBO’s behalf. Authorized distributors may include The Beer Store, import keg distributors or suppliers participating in LCBO’s Direct Delivery Program.
What should I know or do?
- Brewers must now be authorized by LCBO to sell directly to hospitality licensees, or be listed at the LCBO or The Beer Store. Hospitality licensees should make sure that they are purchasing from an authorized representative – the list can be found here.
- Hospitality licensees can now purchase any beer from the LCBO or The Beer store (based on available SKUs).
What’s not changing?
- You may continue to shop at the LCBO – in store or online
- You may continue to shop at The Beer Store – in store or online
- You may continue to purchase from suppliers (wine, spirit and RTD) if they are authorized under the LCBO’s Direct Delivery Program.
- You may continue to purchase from authorized agents under LCBO’s Specialty Services.
New wholesale pricing model introduced
As directed by the provincial government, LCBO has implemented a new wholesale pricing model based on a formula that adds taxes, mark-ups, and fees to the supplier’s quote. The new pricing model closely aligns with industry standard best practices and will streamline and simplify the current wholesale pricing model.
Hospitality licensees should be aware that it may take longer to process in-store orders since our Point of Sale (POS) system will be unable to support new wholesale pricing until early 2027, and manual workarounds will be required. We encourage you to allow more time when shopping in store and we thank you in advance for your understanding as we transform our business.
If you’re looking for a more seamless experience that will save you time, we encourage you to shop on wholesale.lcbo.com, where you have the option to deliver to your business or pick up the order in store. Click here to learn more about ordering online.
If you’re unable to order online, you have the option of emailing or calling your regular LCBO store in advance to place an order for pick‑up, allowing the order to be prepared for you. Please note that while we can prepare your order in advance, we no longer accept credit cards over the phone.
Future State Modernization, including enhancements to wholesale.lcbo.com – April 1
As part of LCBO’s Future State Modernization, licensees who shop online can expect the following changes:
- We have expanded same-day pickup to all 680+ LCBO stores.
- Dropshipping has been introduced, which means that if you purchase select domestic products on wholesale.lcbo.com, they may be shipped directly from domestic alcohol suppliers.
- We have integrated the claims process into wholesale.lcbo.com and the B2B Claims App will be decommissioned. April 10 is the last day to submit a claim on the B2B Claims App online. You will be able to view / download histrorical data until April 30. All future claims should now be made on wholesale.lcbo.com.
