SAQ backtracks on plan to stop giving used cardboard boxes to customers
Quebec liquor stores will keep giving used cardboard boxes to customers who buy several bottles of wine or spirits, the Société des alcools du Québec’s CEO said Monday.
The government-owned liquor monopoly had said it would stop giving boxes to customers for free starting Aug. 1 and, instead, encourage customers to buy reusable containers to carry their purchases.
But less than a week later, Jacques Farcy told customers the SAQ was changing course and would continue to give away the boxes.
“This announcement sparked a range of reactions and legitimate concerns from our customers. The decision to stop distribution was made following internal analyses and discussions and I believed in it,” Farcy wrote in an email sent to members of the SAQ’s loyalty program. “However, it is now clear that we need to re-evaluate our approach and adjust our course.”
Cardboard boxes will now remain available to customers who ask for them, Farcy said.
A company spokesperson told Le Journal de Montréal the plan to stop distributing the boxes would generate around $1 million for the liquor retailer.
The SAQ reported profits of $1.4 billion during its most recent fiscal year and remitted an equivalent amount to the provincial government.
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