Montreal, October 31, 2022 – On Sunday, November 6, 2022, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) will make an upward adjustment averaging 2.4% to the prices of 1,458 products always available on the shelves of its stores and through its transactional website, SAQ.COM. At the same time, a decrease averaging 1.3% will be applied to 539 products while the prices of the 1,389 other products will remain unchanged.


“The inflation we’ve seen in the last few months affects most consumer products,” noted Catherine Dagenais, the SAQ’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Unfortunately, wines and spirits are no exception to the rule. Aware of this upward trend and of suppliers’ legitimate demands related to the challenges they face, our category management teams have succeeded in negotiating a fair price. The upcoming price adjustments reflect market realities as well as our desire to maintain an exceptional product offer at fair and competitive prices for our customers.”


Regular and continuous replenishment products (more than 90% of the products sold to SAQ customers)

 Number of price increases  1,458
Average increase  $0.69 (2.4%)
Number of price decreases         539
Average decrease  -$0.28 (-1.3%)
Number of products with stable prices  1,389

 

For some 100 of the 1,458 products getting a price increase, the date of the increase will be postponed until January 29, 2023, as the products are currently on promotion.

Factors affecting the price adjustment
Suppliers’ higher production costs 
Several of the SAQ’s suppliers are dealing with significant challenges that impact their production costs. These include the labour shortage and higher prices for bottling supplies (bottles, corks, labels, etc.), all of which places upward pressure on prices.

Higher ocean transport costs 
In response to the ongoing disruption of the global supply chain, ocean and land transport costs continue to rise. This phenomenon complicates product routing and places extra pressure on the SAQ’s costs.

Depreciation of the euro
The euro has experienced a gradual depreciation in recent months, a fact to some extent reflected in last August’s round of price adjustments. In addition, the exchange rate for products paid for in euros has dropped, which, to customers’ benefit, will have a favorable impact on the products’ retail prices beginning November 6.


For more information about the negotiation process and a breakdown of the sales price of the products sold by the SAQ: Breaking down SAQ prices