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Systembolaget
Type	Government enterprise
Founded	1955
Headquarters	Sweden
Key people	Anitra Steen
Industry	Liquor
Products	Alcoholic beverages
Revenue	18,083 million SEK (2005)
Operating income	512 million SEK (2005)
Employees	4,397 (2005)
Website	www.systembolaget.se

Systembolaget Pronunciation (help·info) (colloquially known as systemet or bolaget, the literal English translation would be The System Company) is a government owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. It is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% (volume) alcohol. Systembolaget also sells alcohol-free beverages. To buy alcoholic beverages at Systembolaget you have to be 20 years of age or older. There are several laws and rules governing how Systembolaget stores operate, such as:

• All products, including beer cans and bottles, are sold individually (except some special orders where you might have to buy several beer cans and bottles which is usually equal to the minimum order).
• Discounts, such as "Buy 1, get 1 free" and "One can 1.50, two cans 2.50" type deals are prohibited.
• No product may be favored, which in effect means that either all the beers have to be refrigerated, or none. The second option is employed.

Serving a market of 9 million Swedes, Systembolaget is the world's largest buyer of wine and spirits from producers around the world. This has, ironically, led to the result that while Swedes from the southern part of the country often travel to Germany and other parts of Scandinavia to buy cheap beer and liquor, Germans and even people from France travel to the southernmost parts of Sweden to buy expensive bottles of wine to a price that would sometimes be considered a bargain back home. This has of course to do with the discounts that Systembolaget gets from its position in the global market, and also with the fact that Systembolaget has exactly the same markup (17% added) on every sold item.

As other government owned monopolies within free trade areas there are several aspects that governs the operation. All product selections and display must be based on customer preferences, every producer and distributor must be handled the same way. All marketing activities must be for the company itself and its services, never for an individual product. This is also the reason why all products are taxed on alcohol content, not on price. And that all products are sold with the same profit margin. This explains why a cheap vodka can be seen as expensive, while an exclusive single malt whisky can be seen as cheap, compared to international prices.

The traditional layout of a Systembolaget store, with counters where customers place their orders. Today an increasing number of stores are converted to supermarket-style self-service.

In 1766 the Swedish king, Adolf Fredrik, decided, after several unsuccessful attempts at regulating alcohol consumption, to abolish all restrictions. This led to virtually every household making and selling alcohol. At the beginning of the 1800s, the Swedish people were supposed to have drunk an average of 45 litres of pure alcohol a year, from 175,000 distillers (most of them for household-production only), using tremendous amounts of grain and potatoes that otherwise would have been consumed as food.

In 1830, the first moderate drinking society was started in Stockholm. A few decades later, the first complete temperance organisation was formed. Private gain from selling alcohol was hugely criticised by these groups, and this opinion was embraced by doctors and members of the church. In 1850, alcohol began to be regulated by the state. In the city of Falun, a state organisation was created whose job it was to regulate all alcohol sales in the city and make sure it was being done responsibly.

In 1860, a bar was opened in Gothenburg where the state had handpicked the employees and decided how the bar should be run. Anti-social or intoxicated people were to be excluded. This was where people both bought and drank their alcohol. This was also the year it became illegal to sell to people under the age of 18. Similar state-regulated bars and stores began to open in other towns across the country, and they were hugely successful. Originally the profits were kept privately by the owners, but in 1870 the state decided all profits should go to the state.

During the First World War, alcohol was heavily rationed. The state bars and stores started registering purchases. People were allowed only two litres of liqour every three months, and beer was banned. After the war, the rationing continued. Sex, income, wealth and social status decided how much alcohol you were allowed to buy. Unemployed people and married women were not allowed to buy anything at all. A referendum on prohibition in 1922 advised government not to issue total prohibition. The rationing system was very unpopular. When even the temperance movement protested against it (they felt it encouraged consumption), the government decided a new policy was needed.

In 1955 the rationing system was abolished, and people were allowed to start buying as much alcohol as they wanted from Systembolaget stores. This led to increased consumption, so the government increased taxes heavily and made it the law that everyone had to show ID to get served. In 1965 it became legal for privately run stores to sell beer up to 4.9% with an age limit of 18. This lasted for 12 years. After alcohol consumption – especially that of light beers – rose dramatically, the limit was lowered to 3.5%.

A look inside a self-service Systembolaget in Södertälje, Sweden.

The corruption scandal first gained widespread media attention in the autumn of 2003, with Systembolaget issuing its first press release regarding the preliminary investigations on November 7, 2003 [1]. On February 11, 2005, 77 managers of Systembolaget stores were charged with receiving bribes from suppliers, and one of the largest trials in modern Swedish history followed. 18 managers were found guilty on December 19, and then on February 23 another 15 managers were found guilty [2] [3]. Systembolaget has also received criticism for keeping Anitra Steen as CEO in spite of her marriage to then prime minister Göran Persson.

• Alko - Finland
• Vinmonopolet - Norway
• Vínbúð - Iceland
• Provincial Liquour Crown Companies - Canada
• National Alcohol Beverage Control Association - United States

• Alcohol in Sweden

• Systembolaget - Official site