Maine
Maine signs 10-year liquor administration contract with current provider
An inspector checks Fireball whiskey bottles on the line at Boston Brands of Maine in Lewiston in 2020. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Following months of negotiations, Maine’s Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations reached an agreement to continue contracting with its current liquor distributor for another decade.
The state’s new contract with Pine State Trading Co., which was signed last week and took effect Sunday, replaces two previous contracts that were extended to allow more time for negotiation, said Sharon Huntley, director of communications at the Department Administrative and Financial Services, which oversees the bureau.
Pine State has overseen trade marketing and administration for the department since it was awarded the previous contract in 2014.
Following an open request for proposal issued late last year, Pine State was the only company to place a bid.
The contract gives the company, based in Gardiner, sole authority to market, sell and distribute distilled spirits products to the more than 600 agency liquor stores within Maine. State law dictates that only agency stores can sell spirits, wine and malt liquor for off-site consumption.
Under the new contract, Pine State is entitled to 7.55% of total net sales and additional revenue within the state’s tightly regulated liquor market. That will likely add up to tens of millions of dollars, based on previous sales figures.
For the last 10 years, the company was entitled to 6.95% of total net sales and revenue in Maine: 4.7% for administration, warehousing and distribution, plus 2.25% for trade marketing.
That amounted to more than $16 million in fiscal year 2023, and more than $120 million over the life of the contracts, according to a review of the bureau’s annual reports. Huntley later confirmed those figures.
Pine State placed its bids for the 2024-34 administration and marketing contracts nearly a year ago, during a request for proposal period that ended in late January. Weeks later, it was offered the contract, pending final negotiations.
Maine is one of 17 states that controls the sale of spirits at the government level, according to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. New Hampshire and Vermont also employ versions of the “control” model.
In Maine, the bureau sets the prices of distilled spirits and organizes sales, meaning operating expenses – including contractor payments – can contribute to the final cost of bottles.