Vinmonopolet
 |
|
| Government enterprise | |
| Industry | Wine, Liquor |
| Founded | November 30, 1922 |
| Headquarters | Norway |
|
Number of locations
|
315 |
|
Key people
|
Kai G. Henriksen (CEO 2006–2016) Hilde Britt Mellbye (CEO) |
| Products |
Alcoholic beverages, Non-alcoholic beverages |
|
Number of employees
|
ca. 1,800 |
| Website | vinmonopolet.no |
Vinmonopolet (English: The Wine Monopoly), symbolized by Ⓥ and colloquially shortened to polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the only company allowed to sell beverages containing an alcohol content higher than 4.75% in Norway.
As the arm of the Norwegian government policy to limit the citizens' consumption of alcohol, primarily by means of high cost and limited access, the primary goal of the Vinmonopolet is to responsibly perform the distribution of alcoholic goods while limiting the motive of private economic profit from the alcohol industry. Equally significant is the social responsibility of Vinmonopolet, to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors and visibly inebriated customers.
Outlets, located across the country from cities to smaller communities, typically close business earlier than other shops, normally weekdays at 18:00 and Saturdays at 15:00. In 2007 Vinmonopolet sold 71,100,000 litres (18,800,000 US gal) of alcoholic beverages.
The institution was founded in 1922 as a government-owned company as the result of trade negotiations with wine exporters, mainly France. The ban on alcohol was lifted, and sale was allowed through outlets run by Vinmonopolet.
Since 1939 the state, initially through the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and later the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services, has been the sole owner, buying out the private shareholders while remaining a .
The company's import and production activities ceased in 1996 when the EFTA ruled that the monopoly was in violation of the EEA agreement, the company divided into the created company entity Arcus which continued all production, import and distribution activity of spirits, leaving Vinmonopolet as a sole retail monopoly.
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