Liquor Store Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

If you want to start a Liquor business or expand your current Liquor, you need a business plan.

The following Liquor business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning Liquor business plan.

Liquor Business Plan Example

I. Executive Summary

Business Overview

[Company Name], located at [insert location here]will be a community and quality focused liquor store brand based out of Atlanta, GA. [Company Name] will strive to offer customers a unique alcohol-buying experience along with the widest variety of product offerings available anywhere in the area. The company flagship store will foster a friendly, warm and consultative environment while keeping both prices checkout time low.

Products and Services

[Company Name]’s product offerings will include a comprehensive range of whiskey, cognac, vodka, tequila, rums, Champagnes, wines and beers. The company will provide customers unprecedented access to both luxury and mainstream brands, at fair and affordable prices. While wines and liquor will be the Company’s primary product offering, [Company Name] will supplement retail sales with an alcohol catering division. This part of the business will supply and serve alcohol for benefits, private events, parties, etc. in the Atlanta metro area

Customer Focus

[Company Name] will primarily serve the residents, aged 21 and older who live within a 10- mile radius of our store. The demographics of these customers are as follows:

• 416,000 residents
• 1,750 workers (who do not live the neighborhood)
• Average income of $54,700
• 38.9% married
• 49.6% in Mgt./Professional occupations
• Median age: 34 years

Management Team

[Company Name]is led by [Founder’s Name] who has been in the liquor store business for 20 years. While [Founder] has never run a liquor store himself, he was assistant manager at another store previously. As such [Founder] has an in-depth knowledge of the liquor business including the operations side (e.g., running day-to-day operations) and the business management side (e.g., staffing, marketing, etc.).

Success Factors

[Company Name] is uniquely qualified to succeed for the following reasons:

• There is currently no quality liquor store in the community we are entering. In addition, we have surveyed the local population and received extremely positive feedback saying that they explicitly want to frequent our business when launched.

• Our location is in a high-volume area with little direct traffic, and will thus be highly convenient to significant numbers of passersby each day.

• The management team has a track record of success in the liquor business.

• The liquor store business is a proven business and has succeeded in communities throughout the United States.

Financial Highlights

[Company Name] is currently seeking $330,000 to launch.Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

• Store design/build: $165,000

• Working capital: $165,000 to pay for marketing, salaries, and land costs until [Company Name] reaches break-even.

Top line projections over the next five years are as follows:

II. Company Overview

Who is [Company Name]?

[[Company Name], located at [insert location here]will be a community and quality focused liquor store brand based out of Atlanta, GA. [Company Name] will strive to offer customers a unique alcohol-buying experience along with the widest variety of product offerings available anywhere in the area. The company flagship store will foster a friendly, warm and consultative environment while keeping both prices checkout time low. Through improved merchandising and an upgraded sampling, handling and delivery process, the company will strive to transform the in-store alcohol buying experience for consumers while creating a unique and distinctive brand identity, differentiation and brand recall for itself.

[Company Name]’s product offerings will include a comprehensive range of whiskey, cognac, vodka, tequila, rums, Champagnes, wines and beers. The company will provide customers unprecedented access to both luxury and mainstream brands, at fair and affordable prices. While wines and liquor will be the Company’s primary product offering, [Company Name] will supplement retail sales with an alcohol catering division. This part of the business will supply and serve alcohol for benefits, private events, parties, etc. in the Atlanta metro area

[Company Name] was founded by [Founder’s Name]. While [Founder’s Name] has been in the liquor business for some time, it was in [month, date] that he decided to launch [Company Name]. Specifically, during this time, [Founder] took a trip to Fort Lauderdale, FL. During his trip, [Founder’s Name] frequented an independently-owned liquor store that enjoyed tremendous success. After several discussions with the owner of the store, [Founder’s Name] clearly understood that a similar business would enjoy significant success in his hometown.

Specifically the customer demographics and competitive situations in the area were so similar that he knew it would work. Furthermore, after surveying the local population, this theory was proven.

[Company Name]’s History

Upon returning from Fort Lauderdale and surveying the local customer base, [Founder’s Name] incorporated [Company Name] as an S-Corporation on [date of incorporation].

[Founder’s Name] has selected three initial locations and is currently undergoing due diligence on each property and the local market to assess which will be the most desirable location for the store.

Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:

• Developed the company’s name, logo and website located at www…

• Determined the list of products to be offered

• Determined equipment and inventory requirements

• Identified 20 potential suppliers and received preliminary interest from them

[Company Name]’s Products

Below is [Company Name]’s initial list or product categories:

Besides the largest and most varied inventory in the county, the company will promise that the store either carries the customer’s alcohol of choice or can source it from an external third-party. This offer will successfully establish the company as the ultimate and final source for high quality, niche and rare alcohols in the entire area.

Store Design

[Company Name] will develop a 5,000 square foot store whose key elements will include the following:

• Main store
• Storage Room
• Coolers
• Tasting area
• Wine Racks
• Liquor Displays
• Check-Out Counter
• Restrooms

The retail location has 20 dedicated parking spots which should suffice even in peak hours.

[Company Name] plans to be open 7 days a week, from 10 AM to 7 PM. As demand dictates, we may extend or reduce our hours.

III. Industry Analysis

[Company Name]directly or indirectly competes with all liquor stores nearby our store. Competition will come from big box retailers, convenience stores and other liquor stores.

Industry Statistics & Trends

The following industry size facts and statistics bode well for [Company Name].

• Total US revenue for Beer, Wine & Liquor Stores stood at $44.7 billion last year with total industry net income of $3.8 billion. Projected annual growth is forecast to be 2.9% over the next five years.

• A sustained consumer shift away from drinking at restaurants, bars and nightclubs, towards drinking at home. Sales of alcoholic beverages at bars and restaurants fell 4.6%, while sales at liquor stores, supermarkets and other retailers for “at home” drinking rose 9.3%. Americans are consuming 10 drinks on average each month at home, compared with only 5.7 drinks in bars and restaurants.

• Per capita consumption of alcohol is growing across the United States, today 67% of Americans are active drinkers, the highest since 1985.

• Despite the worst recession in nearly 80 years, alcohol stores have proven to be largely recession proof with liquor store revenues expanding 9% over the past five years. Industry experts are forecasting sustained revenue growth for liquor manufacturers and stores across the United States.

• Deregulation of state-run liquor stores, coupled with revitalization in consumer demand, bolstered industry revenue. In particular, many consumers switched to low-cost liquor in economical packaging, which kept industry revenue afloat.

IV. Customer Analysis

Demographic Profile of Target Market

[Company Name]will serve the residents of [company location] and the immediately surrounding areas.

The area residents we serve are affluent and are expected spend more on beer and wine per capita than the national averages.

The precise demographics of the town in which our retail location resides is as follows:

Customer Segmentation

In the United States, there are a total of 313 million people with over 222 million of the total population over the age of 21 years. The major age demographic for consumers who purchase liquor is between the age of 21 and 30 years, followed by consumers aged 31 to 40 years.

Click below to see each section of our free liquor store business plan template. You can also click here to get our liquor store business plan pdf.

V.Competitive Analysis

Direct & Indirect Competitors

The following liquor stores are located within a 10 mile radius of [Company Name], thus providing either direct or indirect competition for customers:

Sigels Liquors

Founded in 1905, Sigel’s is a Atlanta-based wine, beer and liquor store that operates 10 stores in the Atlanta area. Sigel’s Beverages prides itself on carrying a vast selection of hard-to-find, hand-crafted spirits. This includes more than 225 single-malt scotches, single-barrel bourbons, rare wines and cognacs, imported brandies and vodkas and microbrews.

Sigel’s locations are designed to have a comfortable, elegant atmosphere with informational displays including video loops highlighting products. It also has a warehouse and sales of more than $125 million last year, including a large business selling liquor to restaurants.

Sigel’s Wholesale division is North Texas’ most comprehensive full service beverage alcohol distributor – specializing in unmatched personal service. Sigel’s offers the area’s most complete selection of spirits (ranging from the most popular to the most difficult to source), wines, beers and ales of all types, glassware (direct distributor for Libbey and Riedel), bar supplies and associated products. Sigel’s fleet of delivery trucks makes am and pm deliveries six days a week.

Total Wine & More

Headquartered in Potomac, MD, Total Wine & More owns more than 90 stores in 15 states nationwide, as well as in Canada. Although Total Wine specializes in wines, its stores also include beer and liquor in their product portfolio. The company’s stores sell, on average, 8,000 different types of wine, 3,000 kinds of spirits and 2,500 varieties of beer. Total Wine & More has 100 superstores and is expecting to continue to expand operations. By having numerous retail locations, the company can use its leverage to secure low-cost contracts with breweries, distilleries and wineries, which can benefit consumers in the form of cost savings. The company also sells wine accessories like decanters, as well as cigars and other products. About 57.0% of revenue is generated from wine sales.
This company has recently begun expanding to Canada, as well as to western states such as Arizona, California, Texas and New Mexico. The company implemented plans to have at least two stores in Washington, where a new law ended the state’s retail monopoly on liquor. New locations are bringing in additional revenue by expanding the company’s reach to new markets. IBISWorld estimates that Total Wine & More will earn $1.6 billion next year.

Goody Goody

Starting out in 1964, Goody Goody has grown to be one of the major liquor suppliers at the wholesale level for higher end restaurants and hotels in DFW.
Goody Goody Liquors Inc., operates 23 stores in the area. It has two stores in Houston and more are planned for Longview, BuckEye Anna, Little Elm and Colleyville.

The store’s inventory includes thousands of types of wines, liquor and beer and a walk-in wine room includes some rare bottles. The store offers tastings of several Texas based Vodkas, Wines and Bourbons, as well as many other liquid libations and exotic elixirs.

[Company Name] enjoys several advantages over its competitors. These advantages include:

• High-End Focus: [Company Name] will focus solely on high-end beer, wine and liquor lovers, which is a fast growing market segment by revenue. By focusing on high-end customers, vs. the mass market, we are able to provide a personalized, meaningful shopping experience.

• Management: Our management team has years of liquor retail experience that allows us to sell to and serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than our competitors.

• Relationships: Having lived in the community for 25 years, [Founder’s Name] knows all of the local leaders and newspapers, as well as suppliers. As such, it will be relatively easy for us to build branding and awareness of our store.

VI.Marketing Plan

The Marketing Plan describes the type of brand [Company Name] seeks to create and the Company’s planned promotions and pricing strategies.

The [Company Name] Brand

The [Company Name] brand will focus on the Company’s unique value proposition:

• Offering personalized, curated beer, wine and liquor selections in an intimate environment

• Rotating products to always offer the latest selections

• Providing excellent customer service

Promotions Strategy

[Company Name] expects its target market to be individuals living within a 10-mile radius of its store. The Company’s promotions strategy to reach these individuals includes:

Direct Mail

[Company Name] will blanket neighborhoods surrounding its locations with direct mail pieces. These pieces will offer discounts and/or provide other inducements for people to visit the store.

Public Relations

We will contact all local and area newspapers and television stations and send them a press release describing the opening and unique value proposition of [Company Name].

Advertising

[Company Name] will initially advertise in local newspapers and sponsor community events in order to gain awareness.

Ongoing Customer Communications

[Company Name] will maintain a website and publish a monthly email newsletter to tell customers about new events, products, and more.

Pre-Opening Events

Before opening the store, [Company Name] will organize pre-opening events designed for local merchants and press contacts to create buzz and awareness for [Company Name].

Pricing Strategy

[Company Name] pricing will be appropriate for the high quality and level of service associated with the store.

VII.Operations Plan

Functional Roles

In order to execute on [Company Name]’s business model, the Company needs to perform many functions including the following:

• General &administrative functions including legal, marketing, bookkeeping, etc.

• Sourcing suppliers and managing supplier relations

• Hiring and training staff

• Customer service and check-out

• Gift wrapping

• Gift certificate program management

• Display stock, rotation and design

• Janitor/maintenance personnel to keep the store clean

Milestones

[Company Name] expects to achieve the following milestones in the following [] months:

VIII. Management Team

Management Team Members

[Company Name]is led by [Founder’s Name] who has been in the liquor business for 20 years. While [Founder] has never run a liquor store himself, he was assistant manager at liquor store previously. As such [Founder] has an in-depth knowledge of the liquor business including:

• Store operations and management
• Floor sales
• Display design
• Retail marketing
• Hiring and training workers
• Liquor trends

[Founder] has personal relationships with a variety of suppliers.

[Founder] graduated from the University of ABC where he majored in Communications.

Hiring Plan

[Founder] will serve as the store manager. In order to launch the store, we need to hire the following personnel:

• Assistant Manager (Will handle much of store operations and manage store on [Founder]’s day’s off)

• Check-out and Floor Staff (3 to start)

• Part-Time Bookkeeper (will manage accounts payable, create statements, and execute other administrative functions)

IX. Financial Plan

Revenue and Cost Drivers

[Company Name]’s revenues will come from the sale of children’s clothing to customers.

The major costs for the company will be cost of goods sold (supplier costs), staff salaries, and rent for a prime location. In the initial years, the company’s marketing spend will be high, as it establishes itself in the market.

Capital Requirements and Use of Funds

[Company Nameis seeking a total funding of $330,000 to launch its store. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures, manpower costs, marketing expenses and working capital.

Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

• Store design/build: approximately $165,000

• Working capital: approximately $165,000 to pay for Marketing, salaries, and lease costs until [Company Name] reaches break-even

Key Assumptions & Forecasts

Below please find the key assumptions that went into the financial forecast and a summary of the financial projections over the next five years.

5 Year Annual Income Statement

5 Year Annual Balance Sheet

5 Year Annual Cash Flow Statement