May 14, 1999 -- Industry sources have confirmed that the Brewers Retail Inc. (BRI), the source of roughly 90% of all bottled and canned beer sales in Ontario, will shortly announce a major restructuring of their listing fee system. The new system, which may be made official as early as next week, will lessen the costs of BRI access for small brewers.

According to sources, the new listing fee will be $2,500 per package size of each brand listed. In addition, breweries will have to pay an access fee of $200 for each store in which the brand will be stocked, up to a total maximum of $24,930, listing and store fees combined. This new price structure replaces the old general listing fee of $24,930 per brand per package size, which provided access to the BRI's entire system of over four hundred stores.

For the small brewery, the finances of the new system are attractive. If a brewery wishes to list two brands in six pack sizes at twenty key stores, for example, the new fee system will cost them $13,000. Under the old system, the cost would have been $49,860.

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