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Liquor Commission reports $744 million in FY24 sales, details NextGen rollout and competition with national retailers
Summary
The Liquor Commission briefed the committee on FY24 net sales of roughly $744.4 million, its Microsoft-based NextGen retail and wholesale system rollout, online and curbside sales growth and competitive pressures from large private retailers operating in neighboring states.
Chairman Joseph Mollica and CFO Tina Demers presented the New Hampshire Liquor Commission——s financial and operational report to Finance – Division I, including FY24 sales, statutory transfers to health funds and ongoing capital and IT investments.
Sales, transfers and margins
The commission reported net sales of about $744,400,000 in FY24. Demers described the statutory transfers the commission makes: 5 percent of prior-year gross profit is directed to the Alcohol Abuse and Prevention Fund (per RSA 176:16) and another transfer to support the Granite Advantage Health Care Fund (per RSA 126-AA). Demers reported transfers to those funds and the remaining transfer to the general fund; the commission said Granite Advantage transfers rose between FY24 and FY25 because Health and Human Services (HHS) projected a shortfall and requested an additional transfer.
Retail footprint and e-commerce
Mollica said the commission operates a mixed network of 9 state-owned outlets and 59 leased-store outlets; 37 locations offer curbside pickup and the agency is preparing to enable home delivery. E-commerce traffic is substantial: the commission reported about 125,000 website visitors per month and $3.2 million in curbside/in-store pickup sales in 2024 (2.1 percent growth over 2023), with the curbside option active since 2020.
Competition and market context
Mollica described competitive pressure from large national retailers such as Total Wine, which opened stores in nearby states after changes in licensing law there. He said Total Wine and other large retailers have private-labeling and bulk-purchasing business models that differ from New Hampshire——s wholesaling-and-retailing structure; Mollica emphasized the state——s role in product tracking and regulatory control and warned that global quality and safety concerns (methanol-tainted products overseas) underline the value of regulated distribution.
IT modernization and capital
The commission described a NextGen cloud-based retail and back-office system launched in April and supported by vendor contracts and cloud services. Mollica said the rollout survived a busy summer season with minimal customer disruption and that ongoing cloud and subscription costs will be folded into the operating budget as the capital appropriation for the replacement expires.
Ending
Mollica and Demers asked the panel to consider the commission——s proposed FY26–27 budget, which includes modest reductions from an earlier request, and reiterated that the agency remains largely self-funded through retail margins while delivering substantial transfers to state health and general funds.
