Published: 16 Sep 12 11:18 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/43260/20120916/
Swedish state-owned alcohol monopoly retailer Systembolaget has been given the green light to begin offering a home delivery service.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
A male Swedish nurse has donned a dress to protest the lack of shorts at a hospital in southern Sweden, saying he had to fight the small battles for gender equality in the workplace. READ () »
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is prepared to spend another five years inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, but one Swedish lawyer said on Tuesday that the decision would not affect the Swedish case. READ () »
A public transport strike appears likely to kick off on Wednesday night after unions and state-transport heads failed to agree on workers' pay and conditions after three days of discussions. READ () »
Almost 2,000 puppies are smuggled illegally to Sweden every year, new statistics reveal, putting Sweden at risk of rabies while endangering the life and health of the trendy dogs. READ () »
A Swedish train driver has been criticized for using the loudspeaker to warn passengers about a beggar on board a Stockholm commuter train, and encouraging them to save their money and rip up the beggar's papers. READ () »
A travelling community has moved on after Stockholm University exchange students were forced out of their accommodation over safety concerns, with police claiming the situation is nothing new. READ () »
Stockholm City Police have decided not to issue Princess Madeleine a fine for driving in the bus lane a few days before her high-profile wedding, after confusion about her rights to use the lane. READ () »
The Swedish Justice Ombudsman will not look at a case in western Sweden where a man was paid damages for not being given an internship after he refused to shake a female boss's hand for religious reasons. READ () »
More news from Germany at thelocal.de
More news from France at thelocal.fr
More news from Norway at thelocal.no
More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch
Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss
This weeks results..week 24/25 »
"A weekend full of surprises and LFC football. Results look like this: Div 5 Men won 4-2, K1 lost 5-0, K2 won 2-1, Vets lost 3-2, R1 lost 4-1. Korpen Ladies play Monday night and on the 26th the Div5 Men close the first half season with the last match before the summer kicks in. /LFC " READ »
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.
I'll have to remember to thank them for thinking of me the next time I'm rushing through their store at 2:30 on Saturday, preparing for the next day's dinner.
Right. Looking for better ways to reach your market while trying to avoid an increase of your product's consumption makes no sense whatsoever. The whole point here is to increase consumption. If they wanted to decrease consumption, a better strategy would be to open later, close earlier, increase prices and decrease selection. Making it more convenient to get the product via home delivery is NOT the best strategy to decrease consumption. I think somebody is very confused.
I thought banning smoking and alcohol can help society at the good level to live peaceful and healthy. But what government needs is your money and tax, and ask you to drink more and fall down on train stations.
Isn't that going to increase peoples consumption as you'll have more alcohol in the house
The delivery fee is a bit on the high end and I don't understand why ID needs to be scanned. The delivery guy could simply see if it's valid. As long as we still live in a society where everything that gets scanned then gets saved and recorded, I'm not to pleased with that. If you purchase alcohol at one of their regular stores you just need to show it. Aside from that, how are they going to scan international IDs or passports without barcodes?
Next he simply keeps a very small stash of bottles, say 5 or 6, simple, you never run out and since when has buying booze ever been stressful, the system is far more civilised than ANY Ica store. You make it sound like the ability to buy alcohol 24/7 is part of your human rights!
His, and look the alcohol problem in the UK, in homes and on the streets, it's a point in case that it isn't the way you would like it to go.
I just completely fail to see what is beyond most people keeping a few bottles at home, we put food in the freeer by planning ahead, we don't put fuel in our cars for each individual journey, you don't go to the cash point every morning for the days money, what is so hard about not buying your daily alcohol requirement 24hrs ahead of when you need it? :) I live 40km from the nearest system and I'm from the UK drinking culture and I seem to get by!
The only people who can't keep booze in the house without touching it, are alcoholics, hence why you see them sitting on a bench out the system at 945 everyday in city centres and also why the state decided to limit the hours of sale. The regulations just can't harm a responsible drinker?
Only the rich have an additional 250 SEK to pay, on top of what is already overpriced (by European standards) alcohol.
There are advantages to a state run monopoly, in that they can't and don't just sell certainly lines for a profit margin, they can't just sell certain brands of beer, certain nation's wine etc. which gives the consumer a wider choice. Tescos in the UK buys more alcohol than the system alone, so the system will never be cheaper because it simply doesn't have the buying power, but I bet the system sell more different types of beer from more nations than Tescos.
Are you saying that we need to keep a stockpile of everything we might fancy at home just in case?
I quite often go weeks without the desire to drink alcohol. But I sometimes fancy a beer or cider or a few glasses of red or white wine normally on a weekend evening. I hate the feeling of pressure to get to the Systembolaget before it closes on the weekend. The restrictive times that Systembolaget open make people more obsessed with making sure they have Alcohol for the weekend.
When I lived in Britain I never worried about planning to get to the shop on time. I'm not talking 24/7 opening hours but reasonable times suitable for normal people. I see no reason why you can't sell beer and wine in supermarkets that are going to be open anyway so aren't going to be keeping people away from there families any more then they do now. It seems to work in all the other Scandinavian countries that I've been to.
Yes, the Swedish state is the real real villain. Systemet adds insult to injury by treating us as though we are all irresponsible drunks or not-too-bright children.
But then the Swedish state (Big Mother) treats its citizens like children in most ways.
If the system was private, the state would still want it's share of tax, but you would now have a middleman, the private store wanting a big profit. Narrow lines that don't shift will disappear from the shelfs straight away. Major lines will cost more, as supermarkets take their share of profit. If the private store can't negotiate a bulk discount with say a Czech beer from a germany supplier, then it just won't it anymore etc.
You can survive a day without alcohol? you just plan ahead ever so slightly, just like you do when you food shop. Unless of course you food shop ever single day?
I don't feel that I should have to stockpile things just because I might fancy them weeks/months in the future.
I'm not saying that I want to do away with the Systembolaget just that some of there policies such as opening hours and only letting supermarkets sell watered down beer are annoying and a little unnecessary.
I like the fact that there is such a good choice of interesting beers and wines and as alcohol is a luxury I see no problem with there prices, it's just no fun looking at them through the shop window at 3.15 on a Saturday afternoon.
What cynical hypocrisy. Does anyone believe this?
For anyone who does, here's the news: It's about the revenue, stupid. The more alcohol Swedes consume, the better to fund their "business" trips to France.
As a result, my drinking has greatly increased since I came to Sweden.