NORWAY: Vinmonopolet toasts rising 2006 sales

By just-drinks.com editorial team | 12 January 2007

Norwegian alcohol retail monopoly Vinmonopolet saw sales rise slightly last year thanks to a rise in wine sales.

The company said yesterday (11 January) that sales in 2006 were up by 3.5% on 2005, coming in at 68.75m litres. Table wine contributed a massive 79.8% of total sales in the year.

By breakdown, table wine saw sales lift by 3.8% to 54.8m litres, while spirits and alcohol-free wine both increased, by 3.4% to 12m litres and by 8.7% to 0.09m litres respectively. Beer sales slid, however, by 1.4% to 0.7m litres.

For the month of December, total sales increased by 4.4% on the same month a year earlier, coming in at 9.9m litres.

Vinmonopolet was formerly both a retail and wholesale alcohol monopoly but was split up in 1996 under rules governing the European Economic Area.

The move saw the creation of Arcus, a state-owned company that took over the import and wholesale operations, as well as the monopoly on alcohol production and bottling.

Sectors: Beer & cider, Spirits, Wine