Systembolaget 360180 214045682 2008-05-21T21:56:54Z 90.231.62.204 /* History */ {{Original research|article|date=June 2007}} {{Unreferenced|date=June 2007}} {{Infobox_Company |company_name = Systembolaget |company_logo = [[Image:Systembolaget.png|200px|Systembolaget logo]] |company_type = [[List of Swedish government enterprises|Government enterprise]] |company_slogan = |foundation = [[1955]] |location = [[Sweden]] |key_people = [[Olof Johansson]], Chairman<br>[[Anitra Steen]], CEO |num_employees = 4,397 (2005) |products = [[Alcoholic beverages]] |revenue = {{profit}} 18,083 million [[Swedish krona|SEK]] (2005) |operating_income = {{profit}} 512 million [[Swedish krona|SEK]] (2005) |homepage = [http://www.systembolaget.se/ www.systembolaget.se] |industry = [[Liquor]] }} '''Systembolaget''' ({{Audio|Systembolaget.ogg|Pronunciation}}; colloquially known as ''systemet'' "the system" or ''bolaget'' "the company"; literal English translation: ''the System Company'') is a [[government]] owned chain of [[liquor store]]s in [[Sweden]]. It is the [[Alcohol monopoly|only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages]] that contain more than 3.5% (by volume) [[ethanol|alcohol]]. Systembolaget also sells alcohol-free beverages. To buy alcoholic beverages at Systembolaget one has to be 20 years of age or older. ==Governing laws== There are several laws and rules governing how Systembolaget stores operate, such as: * All products, including beer cans and bottles, are sold individually (except some special orders where you might have to buy several beer cans and bottles which is usually equal to the minimum order). * Discounts, such as "Buy 1, get 1 free" and "One can 1.50, two cans 2.50" type deals are prohibited. * No product may be favored, which in effect means that either all the beers have to be [[refrigeration|refrigerated]], or none. The second option is employed. * The age limit is 20 years of age (for beverages above 3,5 % alcohol). A main reason to have Systembolaget as monopoly is to enforce this age limit. Several tests has shown that food shops often sell 3,5 % beer to people below the age limit which is 18 for 3,5 % beer. * Systembolaget is not allowed to sell any alcohol to drunk people, or to people that they have reason to believe is buying it for someone else (implicitely: someone under the legal drinking age). In [[June 2007]], a panel of [[European Union|EU]] judges commented that restrictions on the private import of alcohol were unjustified,<ref name="EU comments">{{cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6722393.stm |title= Swedish booze import ban 'wrong' |date= [[5 June]], [[2007]] |accessdate= 2007-06-06 |publisher= [[BBC News]] }}</ref> and not in the interest of the free movement of goods. This was regarding private import of alcohol by postal package. The shop monopoly is accepted by the EU. ==Domestic and international market== Serving a market of 9 million Swedes, Systembolaget is one of the world's largest buyer of wine and spirits from producers around the world. However, as is often believed, it is not the largest buyer, a place now taken by [[Tesco]]. ==Taxation and pricing== As other government owned monopolies within free trade areas, there are several aspects that govern the operation. All product selections and displays must be based on customer preferences, every producer and distributor must be handled the same way. All marketing activities must be for the company itself and its own services, never for an individual product. This is also the reason why all products are taxed on alcohol content, not on price, and that all products are sold with the same [[profit margin]]. This explains why a cheap [[vodka]] can be seen as expensive, while an exclusive single malt [[whisky]] can be seen as cheap, compared to international prices. It is a fact that [[beer]] is not so highly taxed anymore in order to protect Swedish breweries (and its employment opportunties) against purchase during travel abroad. It is (valid 2008) 1:47 [[SEK]] per % alcohol and litre, which means 3:67 SEK for a 5 % beer can (50 cl). Such a can usually costs about 10 SEK (1:05 EUR) at Systembolaget. For wine the tax follows a table. For 12 % wine the tax is 22:08 SEK per litre. For [[Distilled beverage|distilled products]] the tax is 5:01 per % and litre. [[Image:Systembolaget innen.jpg|thumb|The traditional layout of a Systembolaget store, with counters where customers place their orders. Today an increasing number of stores are converted to supermarket-style self-service.]] == History == In 1766 the [[Monarch of Sweden|Swedish king]], [[Adolf Fredrik]], decided, after several unsuccessful attempts at regulating [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] consumption, to abolish all restrictions. This led to virtually every household making and selling alcohol. At the beginning of the 1800s, the Swedish people were supposed to have drunk an average of 45 litres of pure alcohol a year, from 175,000 distillers (most of them for household-production only), using tremendous amounts of grain and potatoes that otherwise would have been consumed as food. In [[1830]], the first moderate drinking society was started in [[Stockholm]]. A few decades later, the first complete [[Temperance movement|temperance organisation]] was formed. Private gain from selling alcohol was hugely criticised by these groups, and this opinion was embraced by [[Physician|doctors]] and members of the [[church]]. In [[1850]], alcohol began to be regulated by the [[state]]. In the city of [[Falun]], a state organisation was created whose job it was to regulate all alcohol sales in the city and make sure it was being done responsibly. In [[1860]], a bar was opened in [[Gothenburg]] where the state had handpicked the employees and decided how the bar should be run. Anti-social or intoxicated people were to be excluded. This was where people both bought and drank their alcohol. This was also the year it became illegal to sell to people under the age of 18. Similar state-regulated [[Bar (establishment)|bars]] and stores began to open in other towns across the country, and they were hugely successful. Originally the profits were kept privately by the owners, but in [[1870]] the state decided all profits should go to the state. During the [[World War I|First World War]], [[alcohol]] was heavily [[rationing|rationed]]. The state bars and stores started registering purchases. People were allowed only two litres of [[Alcoholic beverage#Distilled beverages|liqour]] every three months, and [[beer]] was banned{{fact|date=March 2008}}. After the war, the rationing continued. Sex, income, wealth and social status decided how much alcohol you were allowed to buy. [[Unemployment|Unemployed]] people and married women were not allowed to buy anything at all. A [[Swedish referendum on prohibition|referendum on prohibition]] in 1922 advised government not to issue total prohibition. The rationing system was very unpopular. When even the [[temperance movement]] protested against it (they felt it encouraged consumption), the government decided a new policy was needed. In [[1955]] the rationing system was abolished, and people were allowed to start buying as much [[alcohol]] as they wanted from Systembolaget stores. This led to increased consumption, so the government increased taxes heavily and made it the law that everyone had to show ID to get served. In [[1965]] it became legal for privately run stores to sell [[beer]] up to 4.5% with an age limit of 18. This lasted for 12 years. After alcohol consumption – especially that of light beers – rose dramatically, the limit was lowered to 3.5%. In 1990 the Systembolaget has begun to have the bottles on shelves, that the customer picks himself and pay at the exit, like any food shop. This was introduced gradually in shop after shop during a ten year period. The older system, when the customer has to ask the shop attendant for products he wants to buy, is still used in some small and more remote shops. Arguments and reasons for the older method is to avoid tempting people to buy more than planned. [[Image:Sodertalje5.JPG|thumb|275px|A look inside a self-service Systembolaget in Södertälje, Sweden.]] ==Corruption controversy== The corruption scandal first gained widespread media attention in the autumn of 2003, with Systembolaget issuing its first press release regarding the preliminary investigations on [[7 November]], [[2003]].<ref name="response">{{cite web |url= http://www.systembolaget.se/Applikationer/Knappar/Press/Systembolagets+polisanmalan/Press+release+031107.htm |title= Systembolaget’s response to the current preliminary investigation |date= [[7 November]], [[2003]] |accessdate= 2007-06-06 |publisher= [[Systembolaget]] }}</ref> On [[11 February]], [[2005]], 77 managers of Systembolaget stores were charged with receiving bribes from suppliers, and one of the largest trials in modern Swedish history followed. 18 managers were found guilty on December 19, and then on February 23 another 15 managers were found guilty.<ref name="prosecuted">{{cite web |url=http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=964&date=20050214 |title= 77 Systembolaget managers prosecuted for bribery |date= [[14 February]], [[2005]] |accessdate= 2007-06-06 |publisher= [[The Local]] }}</ref> <ref name="fined">{{cite web |url= http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3123&date=20060223 |title= Systembolaget managers fined |date= [[23 February]], [[2005]] |accessdate= 2007-06-06 |publisher= [[The Local]] }}</ref> ==Other alcoholic monopolies== *[[Alko]] — [[Finland]] *[[Vinmonopolet]] — [[Norway]] *[[Vínbúð]] — [[Iceland]] *[[Alcoholic beverages in Canada|Provincial Liquour Crown Companies]] — [[Canada]] **[[LCBO|Liquor Control Board of Ontario]] — [[Ontario]] **[[Société des alcools du Québec]] — [[Quebec]] *[[National Alcohol Beverage Control Association]] — [[United States]] **[[Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board]] — [[Pennsylvania]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==See also== *[[Alcohol in Sweden]] *[[Temperance movement]] == External links == *[http://www.systembolaget.se/ Systembolaget] - Official site [[Category:Swedish government enterprises]] [[Category:Alcohol monopolies]] [[da:Systembolaget]] [[de:Systembolaget]] [[es:Systembolaget]] [[fr:Systembolaget]] [[nl:Systembolaget]] [[no:Systembolaget]] [[pl:Systembolaget]] [[sv:Systembolaget]] [[tr:Systembolaget]] *[http://sosmag.se/index.php/living-here/systembolaget-demystified1// Systembolaget Demystified] - The Scandinavian Insider Magazine *[http://sosmag.se/index.php/business/comments/bsystembolaget-forced-to-pay-sek-40-m-to-vin-sprit-ab-b/ Systembolaget to pay SEK 40 million] - The Scandinavian Insider Magazine