The opening (24/10) of the second store of the Canadian LCBO monopoly for Greek wines in Mississauga was a major economic event, with broad Greek representation and great publicity.

It is characteristic that the inauguration was celebrated by the Deputy Minister of Finance Nikos Papathanasis, who pointed out in his speech that the position of Greek wine in the Canadian market is now consolidated and the export prospects for the sector are significantly strengthened.
Similar remarks were made by the President of EDOAO Costas Efstathiou, thanking the Greek embassy and consular authorities in Canada for their contribution to the positive development.

The opening of the store (Destination Collection Greece) was also attended by:

Mr. Maximos Senetakis, Deputy Minister of Development, Mr. Marinos Giannopoulos, CEO of Enterprise Greece, the Ambassador of Greece to Canada, Ms. Mr. Konstantinina Athanasiadou, the Consul General of Greece in Toronto Mr. Panagiotis Antonatos, OEY Mr. Dionysis Protopappas, the President of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mrs. Sofia Kounenaki Efraimoglou, the President of the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments S.A. Mr. Haris Lambropoulos, the Vice President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce & Industry Mr. Dimitrios Dimitriou.

The Walk around tasting, with the participation of 30 wineries, organized by the Interprofessional Vine and Wine Association on 24/10 in Toronto, was a great success. It is indicative that there was a large turnout of journalists, sommeliers, buyers, etc., and the event was also attended by the president and top executives of the LCBO.

Export growth

A dramatic increase, meanwhile, was experienced in sales at the LCBO monopoly in August following the digital campaign by the Interprofessional Vine and Wine Association under the promotion programme through the Wine CMO. Specifically, they increased by 9.2% in value, compared to July, when the campaign was not running, and by 47.5% in value, compared to the same period last year