A court battle is brewing between retail giant Shoprite-Checkers and a small Sandton liquor store over a trading licence.
Boulevard Liquor Cellars, which is more than two decades old, is disputing an application for a trading licence by Checkers LiquorShop at Rivonia Village.
Boulevard Liquor Cellars owner Andreas Panayiotou has objected to Checkers' application, citing unfair competition by Checkers because the stores are about 160 metres apart.
The Liquor Act states that competing liquor stores cannot be within a 500 square metre radius of each other.
This is one of the reasons the Gauteng Liquor Board declined Shoprite-Checkers' trading application in December 2012.
The company operates a supermarket which sells wine there.
"As the small business that I am, I don't think that this is right or fair and it is also illegal.
The small businessman also has a right to make a living," said Panayiotou, who acquired the shop four years ago.
However, Checkers in an e-mail statement told Sowetan the grounds for the refusal of the licence were not in line with the provisions of the Gauteng Liquor Act or the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.
"The distance limitation of 500m can be applied on discretion of the Liquor Board and is not an absolute rule," reads the statement.
Shoprite-Checkers took the liquor board to the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg and was granted an order on June 5 to start operating. However, Panayiotou appealed.
In its decision to refuse the Checkers application the liquor board says in part: "There is no doubt that the applicant's (Checkers) entry into Rivonia zone, the applicant will dominate the market share of liquor in the Rivonia precinct and this will have a detrimental effect on the sustainability of the objector's (Boulevard Liquor Cellars) business," says the board.
Acting president of the South African Liquor Traders Association Mish Hlophe said: "Granting permits to wholesalers will kill our businesses in the townships and other areas.
"These wholesalers will now open bottle stores at the doors of our outlets.
"As traders we would need to come together and protect our businesses as we are totally against the 500m radius as it will affect our businesses," Hlope said.
New font of the bottle store war
A court battle is brewing between retail giant Shoprite-Checkers and a small Sandton liquor store over a trading licence.
Boulevard Liquor Cellars, which is more than two decades old, is disputing an application for a trading licence by Checkers LiquorShop at Rivonia Village.
Boulevard Liquor Cellars owner Andreas Panayiotou has objected to Checkers' application, citing unfair competition by Checkers because the stores are about 160 metres apart.
The Liquor Act states that competing liquor stores cannot be within a 500 square metre radius of each other.
This is one of the reasons the Gauteng Liquor Board declined Shoprite-Checkers' trading application in December 2012.
The company operates a supermarket which sells wine there.
"As the small business that I am, I don't think that this is right or fair and it is also illegal.
The small businessman also has a right to make a living," said Panayiotou, who acquired the shop four years ago.
However, Checkers in an e-mail statement told Sowetan the grounds for the refusal of the licence were not in line with the provisions of the Gauteng Liquor Act or the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.
"The distance limitation of 500m can be applied on discretion of the Liquor Board and is not an absolute rule," reads the statement.
Shoprite-Checkers took the liquor board to the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg and was granted an order on June 5 to start operating. However, Panayiotou appealed.
In its decision to refuse the Checkers application the liquor board says in part: "There is no doubt that the applicant's (Checkers) entry into Rivonia zone, the applicant will dominate the market share of liquor in the Rivonia precinct and this will have a detrimental effect on the sustainability of the objector's (Boulevard Liquor Cellars) business," says the board.
Acting president of the South African Liquor Traders Association Mish Hlophe said: "Granting permits to wholesalers will kill our businesses in the townships and other areas.
"These wholesalers will now open bottle stores at the doors of our outlets.
"As traders we would need to come together and protect our businesses as we are totally against the 500m radius as it will affect our businesses," Hlope said.
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