Have a Liquor Store for Sale in BC? Get a Liquor License & Operations Audit Before You Sell

If you have a private liquor store for sale in BC or are considering selling your liquor store, an operations audit can help you put your best foot forward.

As counter-intuitive as it may seem during a period of inflation, the median sale price for small businesses grew by 16% over the past year, as reported in the Inc. article “3 Reasons Why 2022 May Be the Year to Sell Your Business”. Buyers are “willing to pay a premium for businesses that are performing well”. The article goes on to say that the most popular types of businesses are those that proved to be pandemic-resistant, including gas stations, auto shops, and liquor stores.

In BizBuySell’s 2021 Small Business Survey, 60% of buyers reported the need for profitability and strong financials as part of their purchasing decision, in addition to buying a business that has skilled and already-trained employees.

More people are becoming entrepreneurial, wanting to steer their own ships after leaving jobs during the pandemic; the start of a period now known as “The Great Resignation”. Many workers left careers or were laid off, then re-evaluated life-choices and employment goals in the wake. Many entrepreneurs were born.

An Operations Audit Increases the Chances of Selling Your BC Liquor Store

As mentioned above, buyers want to get into the private liquor store market, but not just any liquor store. They’ll look at financials, store condition, and your employees and training.

Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors recommends that before you put your BC liquor store up for sale, audit the following:

Liquor Sales
Liquor store buyers will want to see sales by product and category. Make sure you have detailed sales records, both pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, including sales forecasts.

Expenses
Just as potential buyers will want to see income records; they’ll also want to see current expenses and expense forecasts.

Store Condition
How does your liquor store look inside and out? Steal a page from the residential home sellers playbook and think “staging”. Upgrade the entrance where you can. Is the exterior clean and is landscaping in good order? Are entrance doors in good working order and is door window glass clean? Inside the store, are fixtures, furnishings, refrigeration and displays in good condition? Are cash register counters and desks tidy and organized? Is your store layout optimized for customer traffic flow patterns? Are sales areas and best sellers easy to find?

Employees & Training
Liquor store buyers don’t want the added expense of hiring and training new employees. While your employees have mandatory Serving it Right (SIR) training, do you have a training manual? Do your employees understand liquor license compliance?

Thrive Makes Selling Your BC Liquor Store Easier Than You Think

If you have a liquor store for sale in BC or want to sell your liquor store, we encourage you to take advantage of our free initial consultation. Rebecca Hardin, CEO and lead liquor store consultant at Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors, has facilitated many liquor store sales, doing the heavy-lifting for sellers, freeing up their time while increasing the chances of a successful, frustration-free sale.