What grew from a manner of speaking service for hard-to-find beers to fine spots for chilling out with quality drinks of all types, Wishbeer will move its one storehouse across Sukhumvit Road into a smaller space following month to cut costs while seeking to draw more franchisees after sales collapsed up of 70 % last year .
“ We sold over 100,000 pints of draft beer in 2019, but entirely 30,000 in 2020, ” founder Jerome Le Louer said.
But while the shutdowns have surely put the hurt on bars, Le Louer said that ’ s merely contribution of the equation, as increase continues to be hampered by rules favoring only the largest corporations .
“ small distributors and retailers like us have a hard fourth dimension getting their names out there because of the limit sales and advertise channels, ” he said. “ It ’ s not fair affecting us, but it ’ s the hale industry of small producers, importers, distributors, retailers, and ultimately affects the consumer ’ mho choices and prices. It ’ s actually bad for everyone. ”
While Wishbeer ’ s Bangkok brick-and-mortar footprint may be shrinking – the new digs are planned at Summer Point future to BTS Phra Khanong – it has added a franchise model .
In the last workweek of 2020, it landed a map in Udon Thani city with a “ bottle shop ” where customers can browse for their favorite beverage. A workweek late, another operator opened Wishbeer Chiang Mai, a bottle shop with six taps in its trend-forward Nimmanhaemin ‘ hood .
That comes after the craft beer specialist and liquor storehouse lost its branches on Thonglor and at The Street Ratchada .
The second-wave lockdown hit Bangkok ’ second bars again mid-December after hundreds of COVID-19 cases appeared, though last year ’ sulfur broader across-the-board ban on all sale has not been imposed .
not merely has commercial enterprise been damaged by the pandemic, but besides a shuffle of rules old and newly. There was another crackdown on the ban on displaying alcohol brands or trademarks that might “ induce ” people to drink ( besides known advertise ), while a obscure newfangled police final calendar month made address sales “ through electronic devices ” illegal. Its shock is still far from absolved .
Le Louer is not alone in seeing a clear benefit for the few companies with near-monopolies, as the laws by and large serve to shackle smaller players from competing .
There are those calling for relief.
Thanakorn Kuptaijit of the Alcohol Beverage Business Association estimates that the pandemic measures will end up causing THB9 billion ( USD $ 300 million ) in losses to the industry and affect the livelihoods of a million people. He wants the government to lift the banish or at least extend stipends to keep them on their feet .
On Friday, the Craft Beer Association petitioned the Government House for easing for alcohol importers and distributors. The group, headed by Archirawas Wannasrisawat, besides asked the authorities to reconsider liquor controls causing “ irreparable ” damage to the industry .
“ We aren ’ thymine asking a lot, barely a room for our businesses to survive, ” Archirawas said .
While Le Louer said he understands some measures are needed to curb the banquet of the virus, he can ’ triiodothyronine make common sense of those on the books .
“ I don ’ triiodothyronine understand why we can ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate consume alcohol while restaurants and bars remain open, ” Le Louer said. “ It ’ s just a cloaked way to close bars without saying sol, and unfortunately, it impacts therefore many people, who can ’ t make a be at the consequence. ”
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