Liquor stores battling supermarkets for booze buyers

A fierce battle is going on between liquor stores and supermarkets over the sale of liquor in so-called bubble shops - indoor liquor stores located within supermarkets. These bubble shops offer a relatively small assortment of liquor. Most of them are unmanned and people often have to ring a bell to get help. This makes them much cheaper to operate than liquor stores. Recently the court ruled that any form of liquor store must always have personnel present, as the Liquor and Catering Act states. And since then the fight between the supermarkets and liquor stores has only been escalating. The liquor store trade association, De Slitersunie, has called on mayors to make sure that this law is enforced, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday. PvdA parliamentarian Mei Li Vos is on the side of the liquor stores in this argument. "This involves strong liquor. It makes sense that you have to keep a strict eye on it with a qualified vendor." she said to NU. D66 parliamentarian Kees Verhoeven falls on the other side of the argument. "It is highly questionable whether a constantly present liquor merchant is necessary", he said. "It is after all mainly about checking the age. The legitimate purpose of the law is to prevent alcohol being sold to minors." Despite being on opposite sides of the argument, both parliamentarians agree that the rules for retailers should be examined. "With changing retail needs and the need for retailers to continue to attract customers with new concepts, we will investigate whether all rules and boundaries are still relevant", Vos said. Verhoeven agrees: "New revenue models are needed to keep the retail sector afloat. Laws and rules should not slow down innovation. The government must ensure a level playing field for all companies.