Smáríkið starts Christmas beer sales two weeks before Vinbúðin

Smáríkið has begun selling Christmas beer around two weeks before the state-run Vinbúðin, with strong early demand, mbl.is reports.

Customers had already been asking about seasonal beer after gingerbread and malt and orange drinks went on sale, said Vilhjálmur Forberg Ólafsson, chief executive of the online alcohol retailer. The company brought its launch forward in response, he said.

Smáríkið offers beer from leading producers, although Tuborg will arrive later this year. Customers place orders online and collect them at pick-up points run in partnership with the company.

Earlier this month, more than half of capital-area residents aged 20 to 34 had registered as Smáríkið customers, Vilhjálmur said. He said the company had seen strong interest and that people had chosen it with their spending.

Vilhjálmur is awaiting the outcome of an appeal after a district court convicted him on 8 April and fined him ISK 100,000 for selling a bag of white wine in May last year. The court found that the sale breached the state’s exclusive right to sell alcohol. The appeal is before Landsréttur, Iceland’s appeals court, which has not yet set a hearing date.

Vilhjálmur argues that the activity is permitted under the EEA Agreement. He pointed to a similar case in Finland, where the Supreme Court ruled that the agreement takes precedence over national law and does not prevent the state alcohol monopoly from being challenged in this way. A bill put forward by 15 MPs from several parties, led by Pawel Bartoszek, is also awaiting consideration.