Company type | Government enterprise |
---|---|
Industry | Food and drink |
Founded | 1 October 1955 |
Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
Number of locations | 441 (2017) |
Key people | Göran Hägglund, Board chairman Ann Carlsson, CEO |
Products | Alcoholic beverages |
Revenue | 29.4 billion SEK (2017) |
282 million SEK (2017)[1] | |
Number of employees | 5,700 (2017) |
Website | www |
Systembolaget (Swedish: [sʏˈstêːmbʊˌlɑːɡɛt] , "the System Company"), colloquially known as systemet ("the system") or bolaget ("the 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% alcohol by volume. Systembolaget acts as a portal for private companies selling alcohol on the Swedish market and as of 2023[update], it represents 1,200 vendors ranging from small local breweries to large scale importers and multinational companies, selling products from a total of over 5,000 producers from all over the world.[2]
Systembolaget also sells non-alcoholic beverages, although this product segment represents less than half a percent of the company's total sales of beverages.[3] The minimum age to buy alcohol at Systembolaget is 20 years.[4] At Swedish restaurants and bars the legal age to buy alcoholic beverages is 18 years, though bars and clubs may voluntarily set an age limit higher than 18 if they prefer.
Systembolaget's stores must close no later than 20:00 on weekdays and 15:00 on Saturdays. On Sundays and public holidays all Systembolaget's stores are closed. Systembolaget's stores are also closed on Christmas Eve and Midsummer Eve.