CHENNAI: Customers visiting Elite outlets run by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) wishing to get a load on are left disappointed due to the undersupply of premium Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer brands.
Many allege their preferred brands are frequently out of stock. Meanwhile, Tasmac acknowledged the delay in supply in a few outlets due to ongoing computerisation work.
A recent visit by TNIE to Elite Tasmac shops in Anna Nagar, Velachery, and other areas of Chennai revealed that many popular liquor brands were unavailable.
M Prakash (38), a customer at Velachery’s elite Tasmac shop, said, “ It looks like certain premium IMFL brands are not consistently stocked, and are cleared out of the shelves as soon as they arrive. Tasmac recently introduced the 100 per cent malt beer. But, whenever I enquire for it, the staff say that is out of stock. We are forced to buy other brands.”
Another customer shared, “Many customers argue with salesmen due to unavailability of their preferred liquor.”
Some customers alleged that Tasmac staff are forcing them to buy only specific brands. “To avoid confusion, Tasmac should display the list of available liquor brands and their prices outside the shops,” a consumer suggested.
Tasmac officials, however, denied widespread non-availability of such brands. Tasmac intends to roll out computerisation and QR-code-based billing in all outlets, which requires the clearing of available stocks in the outlets without QR codes.
Moreover, there were some delays in supplying new stock, which need to carry QR codes and be registered into the online system before reaching the outlets, officials said.
Tasmac’s sales report accessed by TNIE showed that there was a decline in the sales of IMFL in January 2025 compared to January 2024. While 57.13 lakh boxes of IMFL (each containing 48 bottles) were sold in January last year, this year 55.11 lakh boxes were sold, a decline of 3.54 per cent.
Beer sales saw an even sharper drop of 6.97 per cent compared to last year’s January sales. Despite decline in the volume of sales, Tasmac’s revenue in the same period jumped from Rs 4,526 crore to Rs 4,633 crore due to price increase.
A senior Tasmac official said “We supply all fast-moving liquor brands to all our 4,800 retail outlets. However, some stocks may not be available at all shops,” adding that such issues would be addressed.